Considering California is such a large state, it’s no surprise to hear about promising new artists who are spanning the entire coastline. Los Angeles is obviously the city that gets the most buzz, and even though the West Coast music hub is deserving of all the notoriety that it has earned over the past few decades, there certainly are a lot more cities that should be shouted out. I love LA, but I do feel like the majority of emcees from there stay in a familiar lane that sounds pretty similar, but if you head to any of its northern neighbors, you can slowly begin to see the diversification expand exponentially.
The Bay area has some remarkable musicians, and so do Oregon and Washington, but right in the middle of these destinations sits Redding, California. Although it might not be a town with lots of hype surrounding its scene, that is sure to change thanks to Machai, a rising talent who has been cementing his place in this industry for many years. I first found out about him probably last year or later on the year before, and when I got my first glimpse at what he could accomplish, I knew I would be hearing about him a whole lot more in the future.
Well, the future is now, and his brand-new EP I Hope You Know certainly made me much more of a supporter than I ever anticipated. Despite the fact that these 5 songs only stretch to around the 10-minute mark, there is production from way too many talented beat smiths to let this project fail including DarkBoy, Arso, Vendr, Shoki, Admiin, Firemane, PourGas, Saiph, Onli, and last but definitely not least, VVSPipes. This roster of hitmakers may seem like a lot, but they all add a different flair to the effort, giving Machai a whole range of beats to demonstrate so many different sides of his skill set.
He is pretty melodic, naturally, but there are moments where this goes out the window (in a good way) to spit some swift lines full of energy. When he does sing, his voice is just so pure, smooth, and void of any impurities or contaminants, proving that no matter what style he runs with, he can execute with perfection. Although this might be a relatively short project, it really does a fantastic job of conveying everything that Machai can bring to the table, acting as a theoretical taste tester for all of his aptitudes, making it a perfect introduction to the soon-to-be star if you haven’t gotten familiar with him until now.