It’s becoming a constant refrain at Pigeons and Planes, but it’s one that will continue until it either bears the fruit of rap stars or fizzles as some promises do: Milwaukee appears to be America’s next emergent hip-hop scene, a hotbed of varied talent and visions.
Two years ago, I met Vonny Del Fresco, my point of entry to a whole world of Milwaukee rap. Vonny told me early in our conversations that Milwaukee had all the conditions and minds to make impactful art and that its time was coming. A solid prediction. All the while, Vonny would post music on Soundcloud only to subsequently take it down, constantly tinkering with his public output; as others released songs and projects, Vonny polished his craft and aesthetic.
The end result is Memoirs, an impressively consistent album that showcases Vonny’s ear for beats and gift for lithe, melodic rapping, never technically overwhelming but precise and direct in a way that suggests great control and polish. It’s a strong next step from an artist who’s just as much a creator as a herald for his city’s creations.
“Memoirs is a project that I had put together over the course of about 6 months. I took this time to do more than just create the music, I used this time to grow with it,” says Vonny. “As my mind matured, so did the sounds, and the events that had surrounded my life during this period of time set the tone for what would become this. These are my memoirs, my wisdom, my knowledge obtained. Not just knowledge of self, but everything that stood around me, the world and where I desire to stand in it.”
