Now residing in Los Angeles, BurrLin is a hip hop/rap artist, initially from Southside Jamaica Queens, NYC. He started out recording at the age of 15, but then took a break from his music career without completely refraining from writing, freestyling, and rapping alongside peers and fellow musicians. After a long hiatus, BurrLin got back into the booth and releasing music, his latest being the 11 track album, entitled “Growth Zone”. “When I was creating music as a teen, it was raw, gritty, and good but I didn’t know much. I hadn’t traveled the world, got an education, fell in and out of love, went through more of life’s hardships etc.,” says BurrLin. “Now I am at a point where I can truly draw inspiration from my life and connect with the youth and grown listeners alike.”
Addressing a range of personal issues, BurrLin seemingly analyses his life across this album, including an outlook towards the current state of hip-hop as a genre, as well as a particular focus on his own grind and love & life experiences. This is the artist’s work ethos across the album, which will no doubt create a core base of fans who connect to his impacting messages.
You can easily appreciate BurrLin’s music due his honesty and passion, as it almost seems many artists in hip-hop today are afraid to speak about their actual thoughts and emotions. I haven’t heard an album this direct in a very long time. It should propel him to the forefront of underground rap.
From the opening title track, “Growth Zone (Intro)”, this album is intense, leaving no escape from its lyrical imagery and overall atmosphere. I believe BurrLin is aware of this, as this project is a purposeful venture allowing him to truly speak his mind and vent. BurrLin is an outspoken figure, and he finds ways to remain relatable song after song.
Run through tracks like “Jet Life”, the melodic jam “We All In! Gang” ft. Don 116 and Serv 116, or the steady slow burner “Getting Low”. BurrLin’s outspokenness makes him one of the more seemingly genuine artists in the business. Hip-hop is a place where many people are caught up in images, but BurrLin isn’t like that.
BurrLin presents himself in a manner where you feel like you’re getting the full picture of the artist. At the same time, the artist is extremely skilled at laying down an infectious chilled-out groove. Something he does with apparent ease on “BurrBank” and “Ride With Me” ft. Adrian Javon.
Storytelling is another potent tool in BurrLin’s skillset, which he lays bare on the visceral “Faded Too Long” ft. Steel Da God and “Meant To Be” ft. 7xvethegenius. No matter what a rapper has to say on a track and how personal it is, it is difficult to be successful unless it has interesting music backing him up. Fortunately BurrLin produces killer beats as his backdrop, while his bars speak volumes.
The album is nonstop rapping and there are hooks throughout, but BurrLin makes sure to put a focus on his lyrics above all else. If BurrLin feels like he needs to keep going, he will. “Bust It Down”, Chale” and “Comfort Zone (Outro) ft. Phox the Poet, brings us to the last quarter of the album.
Hip-hop is easily accessible, but not for the right reasons. The genre is often times victim of lack of variation. But these final tracks dispel that theory, as BurrLin branches out stylistically. All-round the album has plenty grit and dirt to it, yet at the same time it is polished to a shine.
Tonality is often what can define hip-hop artists from one another. You get a sense of BurrLin’s rich voice right from the start as he accordingly nuances his tones track after track. Proving that he has ample firepower when it comes to laying down bars.
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