Chicago’s OC/IC goes into his journey with melodic appeal and gritty authenticity unified throughout his latest album, “Life Insurance,” with dreamy production, strong rhythms, and cleanly-mixed, short, and meaningful words.
The piece moves from mystical to heavy sporadically as the plot and vocals ebb and flows, combining reflection with explosive peaks of excitement and energy as the scene unfolds, with neatly blended vocals and rising passion and grit throughout.
“Life Insurance,” and even in this new setting, the OC/IC voice is instantly recognizable – more lively, melodically supported, and fuller sounding. There’s also a shift in flow and passion as the verses flow through, showing the variety and providing crucial dynamics for the overall composition’s rise and fall.
OC/IC combines unmistakable rap rhythms and rapidity with an artistic backbone intimately linked to the changing storytelling and vocal weight. So the song works as a whole – addictively focused and anthemic, resolving to that thread concept and providing a bit more information with each return.
OC/IC connects for his authenticity and unique framing of ideas throughout this new composition, always uniting work ethic and dedication with perfect production and confident performances all around.
“Life Insurance,” while far from the beginning of his adventure, is unquestionably the beginning of a significant new chapter for independent hip hop.
OC/IC emerges as an artist with a strong sense of inventiveness at the heart of his work. The single is tough to categorize, and the performance has personality and uniqueness – the sound is also beautifully tuned for that professional touch. Hopefully, future releases will build on those characteristics and push the boundaries of what’s possible in creating hip hop.
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