Southeast Michigan Hip Hop just keeps the reppin strong with the latest from Tree City‘s Cheeks, the smiley third of the Ann Arbor-based team. After killin it on Black Trees and Thus Far with the rest of Tree City, Cheeks drops The Potential, featuring some hot production by various Ann Arbor-area friends, including L05 of Celcius Electronics, Mason’s Motif and Man In Charge. “The Wiz,” The Potential‘s hottest single, brings in a sample from MJ’s perennial Wizard of Oz remake and mixes it with some great vocalizations from K-mass and Dominick from Breathe Easy Music. The result is priceless: an uplifting anthemic crowd-mover that’ll have all the kids bopping their heads.
Like the album’s title, all the tracks on this release really show Cheeks’ lyrical and creative potential. Embedded rhymes, clever meter change-ups, intelligent and contemplative lyrics, all of it portrays Cheeks’ prowess. In The Potential, Cheeks gives off an aura of solid, if slightly narcissistic confidence and pride for his home and his people. But the best part about it is that it doesn’t feel aggressive or ostracizing; you don’t have to be a poor black guy from the ghetto to appreciate Cheeks’s music. You just gotta appreciate good Hip Hop. Is that you?
A great start for yet another great emcee from SE Michigan. Looking forward to more. 91/100 A-
~travlife
Cheeks – The WIZ feat. K-mass and Dominick from Breathe Easy Music
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