Posted on 09/23/2009
A few years ago, I was invited to the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Music Lounge,” where musical acts the likes of Elvis Costello, Martin Luther, and other artists performed as an accompaniment to the yearly, New York city based, movie mania. As one of the features, there was a group of wily young people, with a fresh energy and a hunger to shine, different than the previous acts. And the kicker was that they weren’t just an act, but they were also there to promote themselves, and their movie, The Hip-Hop Project, which was a face to face look into the lives of young people whose, for lack of better words, lives have been saved by hip hop music. They put on an incredibly soul-stirring show, but one of the most electrifying of the bunch, was the one whose name fit most appropriately: Live Wire.

Live Wire has thrived since then, and has graced us with a new project entitled, Death of a Starving Artist. The album is an amalgamation of Live Wire’s intricately written rhymes, his spastically exciting and animated style, and complimentary production fully injected with huge doses of head-nod. The song “It’s LIVE,” is one of my favorites, mainly because its one of the few hip hop songs with such a minimal drum. The trippy part is that though there is little drum present, the string stabs, and handclaps, coupled with the fact that Live Wire does carnage on the song makes it seem as though the nonexistent bass is thumping without cease. The Brooklyn emcee has quite an arsenal, and exhibits, flawlessly, several styles. On “Her Favorite,” a radio ready, easy-to-love, “not quite” love song, Live Wire switches his flow a few times, but keeps the rhyme disciplined and poignant, while playing with the speed and cadence. And of course, on the tongue-in-cheek (pun intended), “Acrobatic,” a bass heavy bounce track, bursting with sexual boasts of how “she likes it acrobatic,” Live Wire delivers a strong flow, and doesn’t try too hard to be sexy. As a matter of fact, to pick a sexual topic that doesn’t involve romance necessarily, was a great choice, only because this guy is all over the place, and this song, though sexual in nature, allowed him to hold true to his style, live.

Death of a Starving Artist has something for everyone. The hardcore hip hop heads will love it because his writing ability is insane. The women will love it because, well, he has provided “love songs” and because quite frankly, he’s chock full of personality. And the casual listener will dig it, because if all else fails, the beats are hard. If 1995 Busta Rhymes had a little brother who rapped, it would’ve probably been Live Wire. But Busta apparently didn’t. So, Live Wire is here to bring precise writing meshed with energy, excitement, and a since of showmanship back to a craft that has become far too cool for it’s own good . Don’t pump your fist, break a window. Stage dive. Sweat it out. Get Live!

-Jason Reynolds