From St. John’s, Newfoundland Lyrical Misfit lives in Fort McMurray, AB, Canada. Getting ready to drop his debut album “NO SURRENDER”, he whets our appetite with the single “Jack in the Box” produced by Soundlab on a beat by BeatKingz. In an era of rap often lacking originality, Lyrical Misfit has been carving his own foundation in the game by consistently dropping quality projects since 2015. There may not be a better indicator of a rapper’ steadiness and love for his craft than that. The contents of the song serve as sort of an emotion umbrella of broad struggles and focused ambitions Lyrical Misfit has experienced throughout his life. The track also happens to be the most-balanced of his projects to date, discovering an equidistance between his bangers and his slow-burners. This is what Lyrical Misfit does best.
“Jack in the Box” finds the rapper pushing his formula even further, on one of the more virtuosic displays of pure rapping you’re likely to hear, in an underground, just as obsessed by mumble rapping as the mainstream is.
This heart-on-his-sleeve directness is a large part of Lyrical Misfit’s draw. He’s the kind of rapper who sounds like he’s always on the verge of an emotional breakout, rapping his ass off in an attempt to at least delay one.
His lyricism doesn’t just come in the form of wordplay, but it materializes through delivery, storytelling and imagery through words. He sounds like a storm brewing overhead. Lyrical Misfit’s brand of booming, transcendent emotional music is effortlessly visceral. One of his best tricks is compounding his inner sentiments with banging drums. Which is exactly what takes place on “Jack in the Box”.
After being swept away by a tidal wave of shimmering keys and earth-quaking percussion, listeners are treated to Lyrical Misfit breaking into a melodious hook, which perfectly contrast the rattling verses.
For all his talent belting melodic notes into the blue, when Lyrical Misfit rides a beat, his steady delivery and biting flow delivers peaks and valleys of lyrical satisfaction. The Canadian rapper is also adept at seeking out and crafting soundscapes that are cavernous enough to house his dynamic delivery.
“Jack in the Box” is a perfect fit for Lyrical Misfit, which also reveals a willingness to grow. His debut full-length album will almost certainly provide a concerted step forward on all fronts – production, rapping, and writing – but in the meantime “Jack in the Box” is a potent distillation of what Lyrical Misfit does best. He is clear by the close of this single that nothing can stop him, which should be a balm for listeners eager for what’s still to come.
