The American dream appears elusive within the metropolis that by no means sleeps. Welcome to Liberty Metropolis Storiez.
Shabir Karim, greatest generally known as Karim, is an Afghan-American artist from the “Center East Facet” of Queens, NY. He first rapped his method into the scene in 2013, with a cleverly titled mixtape, Metropolitics, produced solely by his brother Yaser.
Now, two years later–extra mature, extra advanced, and with a sound that’s able to deliver town again–the emcee is dropping his second venture, Liberty Metropolis Storiez, an 8-track EP. The EP options a variety of unique manufacturing from different upstarts comparable to Yaser, Offy, and Ok. Wealthy. Not like lots of his friends, who put out feature-laden venture after feature-laden venture, Karim pulls the venture off on his personal, with a strong efficiency the entire method by means of. He does go for two well-placed options: a strong verse from Philly rapper WalkerAMEN on the climactic “Grunge,” and a clean, soulful hook courtesy of London’s Ella Mai on “Like That.”
Karim’s means to experience the beat–to ebb as a lot as he flows–is paramount to his sound. His lyrics, sometimes infused with an Arabic phrase or two, flip the everyday stereotypes about Center Easterners into quick-witted punchlines: “Sneak an AK in my camel, yo, I cock it and spray; So many akhis (brothers), Queens wanting like Guantanamo Bay.”
The EP opens with the title monitor, “Liberty Metropolis,” which options Karim’s gritty raps over a darkish, ominous soundscape, setting the tone for the remainder of the venture, which follows the lead of “Liberty Metropolis,” making for a cohesive listening expertise. Karim picks up velocity on the radio prepared “Caviar Ideas,” a extra up-tempo monitor. Â On “Vice Metropolis,” a darkly seductive intro leads into Karim’s uncooked, candid rhymes. The generally sordid lyrics, delivered with an off-the-cuff nonchalance, appear to be barely at odds with the monitor’s dramatic, exquisitely lovely manufacturing. However juxtaposition is the underlying theme of Liberty Metropolis Storiez, and Karim pulls it collectively properly for the grand finale, “All Me,” the place he raps about being caught between two completely different worlds: one which isn’t of this world, the place he’s on sirat al-mustaqim–the straight path–or the dunya, the bodily world, the place he’s caught up with the pursuit of worldly pleasures.
We maintain these truths to be self-evident, that every one males are created equal, that they’re endowed by their Creator with sure unalienable Rights, that amongst these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
— Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
Freedom has by no means been free; it’s really reasonably costly, and each man has his worth. The American dream appears elusive within the metropolis that by no means sleeps. Welcome to Liberty Metropolis Storiez.