This past Monday, Heavy released his highly-anticipated E.P “Born to Live.” The 10-track project is hosted by Reigning Entertainment and features the debut singles “RLHH” and “Can’t Hear U (Louder).” The tracks include an intro, outro, and a hilarious skit. “Born To Live” is available on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes.

Heavy was born in 1988 as the “golden age” of hip-hop was beginning to surface. While listening to the E.P, you can hear some of these hip-hop influences with the bass-heavy, good-time tracks, and lyrical dexterity that remains consistent throughout the body of work. Heavy’s influences include Heavy D and Biggie Smalls, two very different rappers but he has managed to blend their styles together perfectly to create Born To Live.

What I enjoy most about the album is the diversity in sound. No track sounds the same, which is always a good thing when trying to find your place in the hip-hop game. Heavy’s music is nothing like anything out now and that is refreshing and quite impressive. Nowadays, the new artists try too hard to adapt to the current sound and all individuality is lost in a sea of mumble rap and similar beats. While listening to Born To Live, I was taken back to the 90’s house parties and club dance battles. This is especially evident on the track “Can’t Hear You (Louder),” which is all about having a good time. This definitely gives me 90’s house party vibes. I commend Heavy for being able to provide a sense of nostalgia for his audience. The debut single “RLHH” is an ode to the art of smoking weed, a recurring motif throughout the album, with Heavy referring to it as “Reefer”,” Kush”, and “Jane” in several songs.

Heavy takes a turn in the tracks “Momma” and “Life is Hard” by touching on the more personal side of things. You get a look into his life and the struggles that he has endured while at the same time, he is encouraging his listeners to keep going no matter how hard it gets. “Momma” is the epitome of when your mother says, “You will see when you get older.” It’s about understanding that the lessons that we are taught as kids, are to prepare us for the road ahead. It dives into what it’s like to struggle while still remaining persistent and moving forward. “Life is Hard” is similar in that it’s about never giving up, no matter what life throws at you. Heavy also blessed this track with some vocals by singing the chorus.

While all of the tracks are unique in their own way and they all offer something different for listeners, there is one track that I’m not too fond of, “I Got What You Need.” It’s a bass heavy hit, perfect for parties, but what turned me off is the heavy ad-libbing. Personally, I’m not a fan of ad-libbing and there was just a bit too much of it as it takes away from the actual song. Aside from that, the track is a banger for sure. Seeing as though I am not an expert on music production, I can’t comment on the actual beats themselves except to say that I loved them all.

Although Heavy has released music previously, this is his first complete body of work and definitely a great way to begin to make a name in the hip-hop game. This album is exactly what we need these days in order to break away from the state of the game now. I look forward to future projects from Heavy.

Follow the link to purchase Born To Live below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0749NBR2X/ref=mp_s_a_1_4…

Follow Heavy on IG @hevinci_. You can also follow his clothing brand @HASHTAGSCLOTHINGCO

Download the Crown Media App to listen to Heavy’s radio show every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6-8pm

Happy listening