If you’re a fan of underground hip-hop, it’s only right that you know who Destin Laurel is. I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that he’s 18, because his music sounds like he’s been around for a while. After listening to a couple of songs, it’ll make more sense why they call his type of music, “underground”.
An artist like Destin Laurel has a sound that hasn’t been undiscovered by the public, not yet at least. It’s not a sound that you typically find. To complicate things even further, his music doesn’t even fall under one genre. It’s a mixture of hip-hop, pop, and R&B. As crazy of a combination as it sounds, Destin makes it work on his debut project, Searching For Klarity.
This 8-track EP, which was self-produced by Destin himself, feels like an unforgettable adventure. I can’t help but compare Destin to the other rapper-producers that cemented themselves in hip-hop history like Kanye or Pharrell, but especially Kanye. Destin clearly went to the school of Kanye, in the sense that he knows how to flip samples and truly make them sound like something completely different.
Look at a track like “Condition”. Destin and a producer who goes by Zaka, put their heads together to create magic. It’s not rocket science or luck either, but the way they flipped that sample was well executed. It feels like they didn’t make the beat to match their lyrics, but instead, Destin’s uplifting verse matches perfectly to the dynamic production. What’s even crazier, is that as good as this song is, it’s not even one of the top three songs on this EP.
By far, the song that contained the most replay value and depth had to be “Arc’go”. In my opinion, this is the song that I think everyone will be talking about for years to come. It’s something about the vibrant production and the addictive melodic hook, “I’m on go”, that keeps bringing me back. The cherry on top of it all is his melodies because they are out of this world, no exaggeration. Just like the title implies, this track is about Destin being in “go mode” as he is making his way in this foreign place that we call “life.” This is certainly something that many young adults can relate to.
The future is bright for the young ATL rapper-producer, and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. Be sure to stream Searching For Klarity below.
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