As in many platforms from which a woman speaks in the modern world, hip-hop carries with it a particular set of challenges and institutionalized obstacles that need to be overcome. Yet, as in many platforms from which a woman speaks, female artists rarely take time to focus on inequalities, and instead, simply hustle harder to carve out their very deserved and long-established place as equals in hip-hop music. 

 

Today, thanks to a SoundCloud referral from one of our favorite young emcees, Reaux Marquez, our eyes and ears have been opened to the raw sonic landscape of Brooklyn emcee, Maassai. If you find yourself a fan of classic lyrical prowess, artists with a knack from transcending vocal and rap deliveries, and the underlying vibe of the bustling, eternal New York underground, her new track, Spinach & Kale is right up your alley. 

 

A vibrant stream of poetic punch lines and punchy poetry mesmerize the listener for the first two minutes, followed by a swift change in pace to a slower cadence and smoother, more R&B-influenced verse. Her duality of deliveries is brought together by simplistic, unobtrusive production that guides the track and lends itself to her fluid changes in energy, culminating in a product that makes us equal parts reminisce on Brooklyn’s underground history and dwell in its continual existence as a cornerstone of the hip-hop game.