VANE AWDIS
State Streets Series -
State Streets
Alaska Road Side A
Alaska Road Side B
Review by Mike O’Cull, independent music journalist. www.mikeocull.com
Vane Awdis is a gifted, literate, and inspired hip-hop artist who makes music that describes the experiences of human life and development. He speaks on love, hate, and every emotion in between with a wisdom beyond his years and is rapidly becoming a compelling new voice in urban music. He is currently deep into a progression of three EP releases, The State Streets Series, each record carrying a street name title. State Streets, Alaska Road Side A, and Alaska Road Side B are their names and they make a strong case in favor of recognizing Awdis as an important emerging performer.
The tracks on both releases show Vane’s addictive blend of heavily funky beats, above-average lyricism, and creative production. The result of this mix is a set of records where each track is distinct and individual. “Love You Down” on Side A is a hit waiting to happen and “Side Tracked” and “Complicated (Feat. Chino XL)” are stony and strong. Side B, produced by Clout Jordan, is another helping of Vane’s singular sound and both records go down well as one long listening session. Highlights on Side B include “That Smoke” and “Trap House.”
A series of releases is an ambitious project, to be sure, but, as an artist, Vane Awdis seems more than up to the task. He is influenced by Tech N9ne, Chino XL, Tory Lanez, Eminem, and Joe Budden but maintains a strong identity of his own, an important factor for anyone aiming for greatness in any genre. Rap fans looking for something better than the typical tales and sounds will find much to like about Vane Awdis. One listen to these EPs and you will want to stick around to see what he does with the rest of the map.
Listen to Vane Awdis on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Biftrh
