Hit-Boy: The Next Big Thing in Hip Hop [Editorial]

Hit-Boy "Jay-Z Interview" [Music Video]

Hit-Boy should have you tuned in more than a Jay-Z interview.

The producer-turned-rapper dropped his first single “Jay-Z interview” (produced by Bink!) three weeks ago, and since its release, I’ve been struggling to find the words to express my excitement for the next big thing in hip hop. If only I had the ability to articulate the spoken word as masterfully as Hit-Boy does, writing this would be easy.

And that’s the best way to describe Hit-Boy’s sound; he makes it sound so easy. The Grammy nominated producer, credited for working with artists such as Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Jay-Z (see the outrageously popular “N---as in Paris”), A$AP Rocky, Big Sean, as well as many others, chose not to take the “radio route” and release a song with a catchy hook and a few mediocre verses. He told his story of his rise within the industry, and began laying the foundation for the comparisons to Kanye West, his boss at G.O.O.D. Music.

While it may be easy to find comparisons between him and Kanye, it may be unfair to do so. When Kanye first came out, he was angry and cocky; mad at the world that had dismissed him for so long as a potential rapper. Hit-Boy is somehow thankful, confident, eager and passionate - all at the same time - about his arrival.

As I sent the song to any of my friends who knew a lick about hip-hop, I began to wonder why it’s so important to me that people hear this song. I finally realized that in this era of tacky hooks and songs solely made for the mass audience on the radio, it’s beyond refreshing to have an artist who went back to the basic. Smooth rhymes, a fierce beat, and a story. And like that, Hit-Boy is made.

I’m not sure if Hit-Boy was setting expectations low for himself, or it was a crafty plan to blow us away. Because, while watching a Jay-Z interview is somewhat compelling and has poetic value to it, I find myself more than just “tuned in” after this slick track. I can only pray to that he contributes to G.O.O.D. Music’s Cruel Summer.