It’s been a minute since we’ve caught up with Atlanta rapper and vocalist Kenny Mason, but that’s by no means to say the dude hasn’t been putting in work. Recently, the young phenom shared the second installment from his ongoing “Nike” series, which are loosely structured freestyle raps that allow Mason to ‘run’ through the beat. In this edition, the track was produced by friend and collaborator DvDx (pronounced ‘David X’) who provides a wavy springboard for Mason to perform his verbal gymnastics.
While I recommend taking a deep dive into his full catalog, even a cursory wade through Mason’s SoundCloud profile reveals a versatile style that’s comfortable stretching across woozy R&B hooks or delivering raw raps. On “Nike II” he does both, using his natural ear for head-bopping melodies to set up his hard-charging rhymes, and vice versa. In lesser hands, the friction between the two aesthetics would be enough to derail the song’s hyperkinetic flow, but Mason’s guiding hand proves steady throughout, even as he shares the extent of his ambition: “ever since knee highs, see I, wanted to be just like T.I.,” he reveals. Superstardom may be far away, but at least he appears to be headed in the right direction.
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Instagram: @platinummason
SoundCloud: @kennymason
Twitter: @KennethNeutron