Hard beats & hard rhymes; both have been core staples of Hip-hop since the culture’s inception. And while artists of today often circumvent this with gimmicks, an LP that combines the two cannot be denied. It’s a simple formula that is and will always be effective.
Chicago’s Verbal Kent brings this formula to the masses on his upcoming LP, Sound Of The Weapon, produced entirely by North Carolina’s Khrysis. The two have an established track record for bringing fans heat. Verbal Kent is a member of Ugly Heroes, a group with Detroit’s Red Pill and Apollo Brown. Together, the three released there self-titled debut LP, Ugly Heroes, in 2013 to critical acclaim. Meanwhile, Khrysis hails from the 9th Wonder-helmed Soul Council, and has produced for Little Brother, Cormega, Torae, Jean Grae, Tanya Morgan, Evidence, Slum Village, Rapsody, Talib Kweli, Elzhi, Masta Ace, Smif N Wessun, Sean Price and Mac Miller, among others.
Sound Of The Weapon is a 13-track LP packed with raw rhymes and crisp, soulful production. Verbal Kent is not one to hide behind, or need a bunch of featured artists either; and to prove it–there are none on the LP. Instead, he punches his weight throughout the new LP taking on Chicago violence, lesser emcees, and even revealing his own story through the three part track “Now Or Never”. Khrysis keeps the production crisp, with a variety of sounds to keep heads nodding. As an added bonus, the Verbal enlists the aid of 9th Wonder for a bonus track remix of the LP’s title track.

Check out the first leak, “Raponomics,” from the project here: