With the set up of two impressive music videos, Florida-bred and New York-based After the Smoke (the brainchild of rapper, designer, and developer Rob Coin) drops the new mixtape Microwaves, a 14-song set that explores the possibilities of the sound we first heard on “Wallstreet.” It’s a refreshingly smart collection, world-aware raps married with an assembly of warmly modern beats that sound like a logical extension of some strains of underground hip-hop from the mid-2000s. There’s enough melody and humanity to push Microwaves away from the world of laborious conscious rap, carefully running a tightrope between consistent intelligence and entertainment value.
Stream/download Microwaves below.
