What's most intriguing about succinct rap tracks is their ability to pack such poignance into short periods of time. If there's only a minute or two to push a message across to an audience, the verses ought to be as concise as they are creative, and that's a kind of simultaneous skill that many emcees seem to lack for whatever reason. Alex Wiley and Mick Jenkins did away with the commonality on their recent lyrical outburst, though, and further exemplified the artistic energy teeming beneath the surface of the Windy City with their collaborative effort. "Forever" clocks in under two minutes, a fact usually alluding to an interlude of some kind, but not here. "Forever" will leave you wondering how the two were able to flow so sensibly in such a strictured period of time, and closer inspection of their lines will reveal an effortless intelligence necessitating repeat listens.
Alex Wiley & Mick Jenkins