Whenever everyone thinks about music in the state of Michigan, the only location they think of is Detroit, because that’s the most prominent and relevant city that has produced music for decades. In Hip Hop, specifically, you wouldn’t think that there would be any significance in Ferndale, Michigan (ironically, it’s just outside of Detroit). The Midwest was an area that I touched on a couple of months ago, because they do have a Hip Hop scene that goes wildly unnoticed – you could say that people need a kick to wake them up from deep slumber.

          The theme and title of this album comes from the movie (one of my favourites), Inception, and a kick is defined just as it is in the movie, much like the album cover – when you feel like you’re falling in a dream, it wake you up. This album was handed to me (among many others) by my friend Matthew when he came back from SXSW (I hope to attend soon). Red Pill’s voice & flow reminded me immediately of Minnesota legend, Brother Ali – mainly through the content, but the overall production was just wicked. Being from a not-so-relatively-known-city, it’s imperative to make a great first introduction to people if you want to command an audience. I like the fact that he incorporated the theme of Inception with the tracklist and even the subject in the lyrics – asking a lot of questions and referencing to the past (heavily on a previous love life like how Cobb had Mal in the movie). Hir-O’s beats are the perfect compliment for Red Pill and the soul sound that encompassed the project was a great blend to listen to over and over.

There’s a lot of history in Michigan, and not everything is focused on things in Detroit, so I like the fact that this is a rapper that’s not from the epicentre, but is still able deliver good music and tell a story that is still able to hit home for many. This is definitely an album that you should have in your music library, even if you don’t live in Michigan (it helps that I’m a fan of University of Michigan sports). I’ll definitely be checking his music from this point on, so if you enjoy it, then surely do the same.

That’s My Word & It STiXX