Broke Beats is BDCwire’s open-source hip-hop column. Every Saturday, we showcase the best new albums, EPs, and mixtapes available for free stream or download.
The Midwest has long been a stronghold for spirited rappers and producers who haven’t quite pierced the East Coast market. F.Stokes is among the most fearless of of these artists, and the Chicago/Wisconsin emcee’s latest EP “Liquor Sto’ Diaries” is yet another entry in the soulful rapper’s growing canon of perspective-rich street music.
With Doomtree producers Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger (whom Stokes previously worked with on “Death of a Handsome Bride” and “Fearless Beauty,” respectively) laying the beats, Stokes sounds comfortable and squarely in his mode as he proffers poetics on his halcyon days on Chicago’s south side. Head-nods abound as Stokes turns Lazerbeak’s soul beat into an origin story on “Gots to Save You,” and “Summer Coldest” is one of the smoothest gangsta anthems this side of Chi City.
“Liquor Sto’ Diaries” was released May 6 via Potholes in My Blog, and the four-song teaser is available for stream and download below for your repeat listening.
