Photography By Jamel Shabazz

If anyone knows about the nature of a fast come-up through the net, it’s Mr. MFN Exquire. He intruded on the scene last year with his gruesomely awesome song and visual, “Huzzah,” following which he quickly signed a lucrative deal with Universal Republic in early 2012. After going on the six month In The Wild tour with Killer Mike, Despot and EL-P, the Brooklyn based emcee is out to say something with his latest EP, Power & Passion. Since the deal, he’s abbrieviated his name, but ain’t too much else changed.

The production palette features notable producers that have had an affect on both major and underground culture as of late. The likes of SpaceGhostPurrp, Harry Fraud, and Dot Da Genius. While they’ve had major success with other emcees, the music sounds surprisingly innovative with Exquire. It almost seems like the record deal never happened.

It’s not the most thrillingly lyrical project but it offers a crisp originality that’s rare. Exquire manages to captivate listeners, bringing his culture of cheap whores and champagne to the table, while also spreading a noble message of passion. It seems like a casual hipster-friendly music at first, but If you listen closely you might just hear something uplifting. It’s clear on the Gucci Mane assisted “Telephuck” where the hook goes something like, “I got a bitch named Telephuck. She fuck whoever I tell her fuck.” But later in the song he spits,  “Money is the devil, the root of all lies. Who you think you know who could really be the devil in disguise.” There’s a method to his nastiness. Toward the middle of the EP there’s a minute long “Supa Interlude” that spreads the “Passion” message while dropping some jewels and new slang along the way. Mr. MFN Exquire remains efficient in the way of hearkening true school aesthetics into new school formats. Hopefully, he’ll follow through with the album.

The post EP REVIEW: MR. MFN EXQUIRE STAYS TRUE ON <em>POWER & PASSION</em> appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.