yU: The Earn

It amazes me how much quality Hip Hop is coming out of the nation’s capital right now; a scene, which is criminally slept on, that is developing some really talented artists. One such group is Diamond District, the collaboration of Oddisee, Uptown XO and yU, with all three releasing solid projects this year. Oddisee with Rock Creek Park, XO with Monumental II, and now yU, with The Earn, the follow up to his acclaimed 2010 solo debut, Before Taxes. With The Earn, the Maryland native continues putting in serious work, ruminating about life and living over sounds provided by beat-makers Slimkat78, Kev Brown, Kokayi, yU himself and others.

On The Earn, yU presents himself as a working class man who is striving to keep his head above water, concerned with paying his dues, trying to be the best person he can be, and continuing to make that difficult climb to the top. A deep thinker, yU prefers introspection and candor, and when he speaks, there is soul to his observations, giving the record some weight and gravitas. You hear this right from the intro track, “Flipping Channels / theEarntro,” which flips samples about time and money (which is a particularly divisive theme on the record), before jumping into an authoritative boom-bap beat, which yU flexes a verse over mentioning that he was, “Always a quiet dude, reign over my rivals as concealed as a weapon.” When he states, “yU is out to EARN,” you know he’s not talking about dollars, but something much more. On the next track, “First,” over a 00GENESIS beat with smooth drums and a probing guitar loop, yU brings a certain depth to the joint, treating the track as a new beginning and a first step in building his legacy as he reminisces about writing his first rhymes, doing his first joint, and reaffirming the idea of building and working his way up. He ramps things up on the next track, “Bonafide,” a terrific joint which bangs with its raw guitar-heavy beat hooked up by Kokayi and a solid and soulful hook from Nicholas Ryan Gant, as yU speaks about trying to stay true in a society full of sin, vices, and all kinds of stress rhyming, “We so materialistic that it’s hurting us now / We go to work with a frown, bound, doing what we allow / Fake smile to the boss’s feet, you bow down or your belly gon’ growl / The economy is wild now, how does laid off sound? You got a child, found out…” yU hits the high points attacking issues with focus and dedication and listening to him, you can tell that he’s a cut above many rappers when it comes to delivering ideas and musings which hold weight. This is true for many joints on the record such as “Time Machine,” where he reflects on past memories of himself over a relaxed beat, moving through images and episodes in his life like flipping pages in a photo album [or] explaining the conflicts he feels towards the green on “Money (The Ahh Yeah),” knowing that it leads to evil. But he struggles in trying to resist it (with a fantastic funhouse-like interlude on “Fast Money” where he mocks it and expertly selects the “greed is good” line by Gordon Gekko from the classic flick Wall Street to drive the point home), or “Delay,” with guests XO and Oddisee, he implores listeners to slow down and make the most out of life over an imposing drum pattern and a rising and falling melody. On “theEARN,” he tells a crap rapper, “I was recording last night, where was you at, clubbing? Having fun, but in the end ask what you got from it…” Again, it’s that idea of dedication and yU knows that good things come to those who put in the work. The record’s closing track, “Highlights of Life, Part 2”, is a FANTASTIC jam, produced by yU himself with strong elements of Afrobeat music, coming across as a very live listen with its drums, keys, and chants. yU explores his past and feelings with heart and a very determined cool and tells us to, “Reach for the highest heights.” It’s one of the best listens I’ve heard this year.

With “Highlights of Life, Part 2” closing out the record, you’ll wish that some of the tracks on The Earn were a bit more engaging. There are some tracks like “I Believe,” where the production and delivery are played a bit too cool, resulting in tracks which will pass by without much notice. I wish there were more moments like “Bonafide,” “Delay” or “Fast Money,” with more upfront and challenging listens, which grab you. There are also some times where the production will be amped up with samples or chopped beats to make things more lively, but tend to harm the track more than improve it, such as the somewhat obnoxious vocal sample on “Make A Living,” or the samples employed on the funky “Even If (The Willingham).” Also, some of the track-ending interludes, which serve to establish the next joint, run a bit too long.

With The Earn, yU succeeds at crafting an inspired record with deep introspection, poignant rhymes, and smooth production delivering some of the most striking Hip Hop I’ve heard all year. yU has put a lot of work into this one and this record definitely earns a spot on your playlist. Check it out!

9.0/10

Bonafide

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Write On

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Highlights Of Life Pt. 2

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