Anytime you see the now legendary image of Nipsey Hussle, its hard not to notice the “PROLIFIC” tattoo that graced his right temple. On the cover of EyeQ Shahid’s most recent LP “Lead by Example,” a Nipsey mural near the Staples Center looms large behind the Richmond/LA rapper and its quite appropriate because there are few independent artists as prolific as EyeQ. This guy has made more music in the last 3 years than most of your favorite rappers have in the last decade. 2021 will be no exception and Shahid promises his upcoming 4/20 release, “Rich” will be his best yet. If “Lead by Example” and his recent EP release “No Second Chances” are any indication— I believe it.
Both releases feature a lion’s share of the production done by frequent collaborator, Komron. Its no coincidence these two work together so well as they are both extremely versatile. EyeQ Shahid is right at home in the trap. When you go through his discography you may hear shades of 3-6 Mafia or Pastor Troy—he has a voice and cadence that’s going to immediately let you know he’s from the South. But the more you pay attention to his flow and content you can tell he’s been influenced by a plethora of the greats, and all types of styles creep in. Despite the pain and street knowledge Q consistently spits, he is far from afraid to rock an upbeat record.
On “Lead by Example” The VA to LA transplant shows us this versatility on a two-track flip on the 6th and 7th cuts, “10PM in Hollywood” and “G Thang” respectively. “10PM..” features two other up and coming emcees with LA ties from Virginia, Sneeze and Reppaton. The three proceed to tear up this down-tempo, bass-heavy track from Komron and its immediately followed by a glossy Teena Marie “Oo La La” sample (made famous by the Fugees) on “G Thang” that’ll have you wishing you were riding top down amongst the Cali palm trees. On another standout track “FTW” spits, “…We all got dreams, n**** chase the shit. History is history, you can’t replace the shit. Look straight in the mirror, n**** face the shit. One more time…fuck the world, man I hate the shit.” The entire 8-track LP delivers on EyeQ’s trademark minimally-worded, maximum impact hooks— Its an easy, fun listen and you’re guaranteed to find a track or two to add to your playlist.
The 3-track EP, “No More Second Chances,” is highlighted by the song, “Uptown N****.” The hook borrows from Lil’ Wayne’s well known reprise on he and Birdman’s “Neck of the Woods.” On the Komron banger, Shahid raps “Why you thinking bout’ the mall? What your ass gon’ do today? Know you popping all them bottles, but your ass is losing play…” Nobody can ever accuse EyeQ of slacking on his game. He keeps coming at us with heat and its only going to get hotter with more singles and visuals dropping in March to accompany his April 20th release of “Rich.” Get in tune with the movement by streaming his music and following on social with the links below…
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Post By: @itsk1rbs