Artist: Adrian Kniffley
Album: Authentic Still
Articulation: Courtney Cosby
This project was very refreshing because Adrian is exactly what the title says, "Authentic Still." The 1st song called "Authentic 2.0" breaks down what makes him so authentic compared to everyone else. He mentions several successful rappers that he likes, but isn't influenced by and talks about how most people follow leads and play roles. Originality is less common these days so the fact he's authentic and in his own lane is extremely satisfying.
There's a skit called "Scroll, Scroll" followed by a song called "Disconnected" that are my 2 favorite tracks. The skit and song is about how fake social media is and how people are so caught up in it. He speaks on trolls, fake gangsters, scammers, going live, arguing, debating and pretty much everything else we see on social media on a daily basis. Adrian starts the song off with a quote saying, "social media, a place where people worry about the feedback of people who ain't even gonna be at their funeral," followed by a dope chorus that says, "lately I been feeling disconnected, but I ain't tripping though I wouldn't say depressing, the internet got em gassed up on unleaded, and I ain't with the flexing, I'm trying to bring a check in." Soon as the skit came on, it caught my attention.
"Let It Stream" featuring Rob Lee is another favorite. Rob Lee's is an amazing singer so him being featured on the song already let me know this was gonna have more of an R&B vibe and be for the ladies. There's a song called "Do It 4 Real" that has a skit before it with the same title that's also dope. The skit talks about how somebody Adrian went to high school with commented on 1 of his posts asking has he made it big yet, so Adrian asks what does he mean by make it big and he responds back with, "followed your dreams." He goes on to discuss how friends and family always inquire about his music but can't quote a song or chorus of his. He then explains how he doesn't make music to be famous since Rap City and 106 & Park left lol which let's me know he's from the old school like me! He treats music as an art and he's just doing his part, which was quite impressive to me.
"Authentic Still" has 13 tracks but 3 of those are skits. They were high quality songs, but some of the choruses could've been better. The lyrics were good but the tone and cadence of the person saying them weren't as appealing. The subject matter is what grabbed me the most because it fits the title perfect. He raps about being authentic and real instead fake, which is also very important to me. Just from listening to this project you can tell that Adrian is really an authentic person who marches to the beat of his own drum regardless of what anybody thinks or says. He never said 1 negative thing on this whole project, which is very rare. "Authentic Still" gets a Dope Tho rating of 8 on our Dope Tho rating scale. Making it Heat for sure!
Dope Tho Rating: 8
Key Dope:
Let It Stream
Disconnected
Do It 4 Real
Dope Tho Rating System:
1-3 = Nope Tho
4-6 = Solid
7-9 = Heat
10 = Rated Dope Tho