As the act of making music has become more and more accessible to just about anybody as time has moved forward, artists are beginning to find new ways to explore the conventions of whatever genre they see fit. This is certainly true for hip-hop, where many artists have forgone the traditionally detailed and entertaining lyrical aspects in favor of catchy earworms that fulfil the genre’s grander shift towards the pop world.
But that is not to say witty lyricism and pure pop memorability cannot coexist; they actually make something of a perfect pairing. For an artist who exemplifies this fact in its fullest effect imaginable, look no further than one Kasper Gem. The Novagang mainstay has made a career out of using his unique inflection and endless lyrical creativity to come through with some of the most memorable passages and full tracks alike over the past year and beyond.
Perhaps no song better represents this notion better than his most recent single “School Bus.” This track is a relentless cut that fails to let up even for the slightest moment, whether that is through the spacious and dense instrumental provided by in-demand producer Hoodwtch, or from Kasper himself and his ever-infectious presence on the mic.
For all two-and-a-half minutes of this experience, he blasts us with one-liner after one-liner as they keep building up to completing this wholly enigmatic track. The listener is constantly entertained as these lines come one after another, going from talking Ben 10 and Big Ben to the track’s namesake in Mrs. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus. Not a single line here fails to fall short, helped especially by Kapser’s one-of-a-kind delivery and flow more than anything else.
Kasper Gem is completely by himself when it comes to entertaining songwriting amongst his contemporaries in the modern online music scene, and it is tracks like this that prove exactly why a stark claim such as this can be made. Artists like him are simply unignorable due to their brazen presence by itself, and certainly the talent that comes with it.