Last week we met promising young Virginia emcee GoldLink, a rapper with a flow reminiscent of Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino and energy to spare. His unheralded arrival was. And it looks like he’s not travelling alone.
This week, GoldLink affiliate Ace Cosgrove pops up with “Diamonds,” a raw stream of consciousness rap that displays uncommon energy and a sort of measured chaos (similar in nature, if not sound, to Schoolboy Q’s violent vocal fluctuations). Flipping staccato rhythms into smoother patches of rhyme, Cosgrove shows a technical imagination that, properly cultivated, could straddle the line nicely between eccentricity and accessibility. Between Ace Cosgrove and GoldLink, the DMV region is pretty well-stocked with young, unorthodox rappers.
Dive into “Diamonds” below and check out another standout from Cosgrove’s modest catalog, “Righteous Views,” beneath that.
