Locality.Statements

Do You Support Local Artist?

Do you support? Do you fly your local flags? This isn't a gang initiation, no.

What is this Tico?

This is a serious step in many artists' lives. Being put on and helped out by those around them- very important. I've ventured into mainstream and other areas' artists- but my own backyard? 

That's a bit controversial...

So was that Kanye/Sway interview… so onward we move.

DC/Maryland/Virgina

Hailing from the DMV is young Cyrus- this dude is not even out of high school but sharing his vocals with the world. His debut project Ethos, dropped December, 29, 2013. He has been featured on other local artist's works and has made the rounds on rap blogs and music sharing sites. At such a young age he has been compared to rebellious Asher Roth- whose flow is lazy yet engaging. I can see the parallels, especially with Asher's more recent sound, but Cyrus has stamped his own in this area with his verses and bars.

Whats The Word On The Flow

This kid's flow is before his time. Again, I see the parallels between him, Roth, Vic Mensa, and possibly even Big Sean. A nice open-mic, mix tape-like, and earthy sound is heard on his EP. The syntax and rhyme scheme is dope and not even of this area. To some, this sounds a bit lazy, (which he can be reprimanded for). While he doesn't sound as hungry as others on his tracks, I think that a young artist can only get better in terms of bar structure and musicality.

What's Being Said?

The content is not deep. Masochistic and degrading verses sprinkle the drug references with counter-culture hooks introducing themselves. It's not that he can't rap about something of substance, this is debatable and relative. What's important to one may not be important to another. Rapping on girls, weed, and…. rapping isn't necessarily ground-breaking though and on that note I nod accordingly.

Hey I like bangers on chill subjects such as those…

I do too but the game is over-saturated in bangers on nothing. I expect better from this locality.

The Beats Though

Ethos has awesome tracks that fit Cyrus' flow like puzzle pieces. These beats are reminiscent of throwback 90s tracks or Midwest production- I'm especially keen on the few samples included. The old man yelling about money? Classic. While I like the beats- production gets a zero. EP's by definition are about 10-15 minutes in length… 4 songs maybe. This EP is just around 10 minutes and has 7 tracks. There is not enough room nor any variability in the production to capture a wide fan base. The beats are nice yeah, but there is no different sound which is sad because there were seven opportunities to do so. These tracks being so short show Cyrus' weakness in a production team or his weakness in writing enough to fill out a whole song.

An even worse predicament is that there is no hype surrounding this young rapper's release. There seems to be a small twitter wave within certain circles but researching this dude's life shouldn't have proven to be as difficult as it was. For another release, Cyrus, you don't have to give us a NWTS album (way long) but more would be appreciated. This EP is more of a trailer as to what you want to say- no track even reaches 3 minutes.

The Conclusion

Ethos gets a "pat on the back" and a "what's next". I don't mean to sound harsh but the youthfulness of the artist is heard clearer than his bars on this EP. Being new doesn't discount talent though- while Cyrus has a ways to go, it's not like people won't watch him get there.

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