Of The ‘#FAITH’

Don’t ask me why but the South has been growing a strong underground scene. It’s been really growing in the past few years. I spoke about iBeast recently and his monster of a mixtape. When I mention him I cannot forget about Atlanta born rapper Scotty.

I first got acquainted with Scotty on his The Jiffy Cornbread Experience mixtape. I cannot tell you the number of time I listened to that tape, the tracks “One Nite” and “Cornbread Eatin’” being the most heavily spun of the eight track project.

Twitter damn near blew up when he put out his last mixtape, #FAITH (an acronym for Forever Atlanta In The Heart). I downloaded it post haste and I haven’t been disappointed with it yet.

#FAITH is a raw and well written mixtape. Built upon solid production as well as strong showings from both Scotty and the featured artists, I can safely put this one in my list of great mixtapes of 2013. Each track seems to tell the tale of Atlanta, GA in vivid detail.

“Food For Thought” is an extremely personal track. Scotty represents well and speaks on how the music in Atlanta sometimes is a way to get by, whether you’re making it or listening to it. He also speaks certain things such as his life in the A. The beat seems cool and pure Southern in a flawless way.

“Clarity” had me sitting with headphones on and my eyes closed. The track is introspective. It is a man reflecting on everything in his life in a rather objective way. Vocalist Ebony Love interposes her amazing voice between chopped samples and deep thought. When you come to this track, grab your headphones and close your eyes. Scotty is guaranteed to take you away.

“SheOntGiveAF” features another underground Atlanta rapper that I am digging rather heavily: The CoolisMac. It’s a club track to the fullest with more clever wordplay and better rapping. Despite that, the theme is a familiar one: flashing stacks of cash in an attempt to attract a beautiful young woman back to the house for a good night. Mac and Scotty are perfection on this track without any real effort.

“3 Dayz” is my personal favorite. It is the art of storytelling at its absolute best. The production is reminiscent to early OutKast. Scotty tells the story of his interactions with a girl he is familiar with and has slept with before. Throughout he [Scotty] narrates how after the three days she may just catch feelings that aren’t usually a part of these types of relationships. Once again Ebony Love delivers great vocals, playing the part of the woman who was catching the feelings.

Also check out: “My Shoes” featuring Starlito and Killa Kyleon, “Conversations On That Brown” featuring Trinidad James and “Ol Skool 84” featuring LE$.

Without putting too much on it, I say that Scotty plays like a major label artist on #FAITH. It’s probably a lot better than a few studio albums I have heard in the last few years. This young rapper has an enormous upside coming sometime soon. Of this I have absolute faith.

written by Lucius Black for Royalty Magazine.