Sxvxnt – “Chicago 1800”
Our next #GxldApproved single release is “Chicago 1800” by artist and Sound of Cannae curator, Sxvxnt. From the streets Chicago to cobblestone roads of Charleston, Sxvxnt is quietly becoming a household name in the underground Charleston hip-hop scene.
A strong, suave presence and stellar live performances at some of Charleston’s most prominent venues for live music, are just a few of Sxvxnt’s #GxldApproved attributes that are aiding him to become a pillar in the Charleston music scene.
With the release of “Chicago 1800” produced by Satchill Head, Sxvxnt uses a collage of thoughts, concepts, and slick undertones of battle hardened confidence, to draw in listeners of true hip-hop. The boom-bap kick drums and production puts me in the mind of “Electric Relaxtion” by A Tribe Called Quest.
“Chicago 1800” is filled with substance, flavor, and Sxvxnt’s classic, jazzy hip-hop style. He opens the track with expressive tones, creating six degrees of separation between his drive as an artist and the current state of the hip-hop around him.
With bars like: “I’m shaking your sound booth/And breaking new ground, too/And making new boundaries with whatever I pound, duke/Like a rebound smooth snagged/I’m right in the groove’s bag/They just like to sag on the rhyme ’til the groove drags/That’s wack/Effetes just live on the back beat/Contrasting my style/I lead the heat at the track meet/Indelibly waxing/Forever with brash steez..” Sxvxnt clearly gets the point across that is he here to shake the room and create new perceptions of the classic, underground, hip-hop sound.
As the track nears its end, Sxvxnt presents a new direction and speaks on an unfortunately trending topic in the world: the misuse of police powers and the brutalities we’ve been subject to because of it. He ends the track with his thoughts on this concept and pays a respected dedication to some of the lives lost to police violence: “EquiSZN means open season on hog ties/And wrested peace from the scores who’re screeching ‘bout all lives/You’ll rest in pieces if you ain’t speak up when ‘Quan died/Or let the death of Rekia cede that the law’s blind/Or set with reticence at the fleecing of Ron’s spine/And let it sit in secret abreast a heaping of Rahm’s lies..”
In conclusion, “Chicago 1800” is a super solid drop for hip-hop heads and fans of lyrical verses, wordplay, and conceptual rap music. Give a listen below to one of the rising masters in the craft of hip-hop, Sxvxnt!