Straw Kennedy: “snooze” is his masterstroke!
Straw Kennedy is an independent rapper who works out of his home studio. Ironically Straw used to hate rap. He would hear it on the radio and immediately associate it with “thug” or “gangster” music. At the same time though, he admits that some of his music also has the typical themes about drug, sex, alcohol, but warns to dive deeper, into his songs which will unravel and reveal more profound meanings. Straw says, that he himself has struggled with addiction and depression. And that it was only through music that he has been able to find himself and rediscover what it means to have something to live for. Straw Kennedy has just dropped his latest mixtape, entitled “snooze”. Exuding confidence at every turn, Straws ability to wrangle any sound into his warped world of hip hop is exhilarating.
Angsty and introspective as it may lyrically be, “snooze” is not without its lighter moments. The mixtape proves itself to be Straw Kennedy’s masterstroke – it’s a record that does more than just pitch him leagues ahead of many of his underground contemporaries in the game; it’s a portrait of a young dude who’s more than happy to invent a whole new game.
When you look at the hip-hop landscape, there’s no-one quite like Straw Kennedy. Whether it’s his voice and flow, his lyrics or even his beats, Straw is a true outlier and it makes him all the more interesting.
Straw Kennedy is an artist man revels in contradiction; who defies all traditional hip-hop expectations. Most importantly, he wants to make music that lasts, concerned that artists nowadays simply deliver one-and-done party anthems.
Unafraid to take time off to slow down, sit down and really focus, creativity over ambition seems to be Straw’s motto. “Fame, is not my goal when it comes to making music,” says Straw Kennedy. “I simply want to put my voice out there into the world. When I die, I want the songs I made to be a representation of who I was and who I wanted to be.”
Straw is a rapper to push things further, digging deep into his experiences and themes. This much is evident from the moment the track, “I Need Dat”, kicks off the mixtape. Straw also has a way with mixing the serious with the humorous, each track being full of his cutting wordplay.
As his perfectly demonstrates on the second track: “All of the artists are dead. I just see animals. I just see cannibals. A sea of condemnables. Can we forget about you? Can we stop partying too? I’ve already blown down the roof. What else is there left for me to do?”
Constantly surprising and delighting with diverse vocal effects and lyrical flows, Straw presents a set of outstanding tracks that navigate just outside of the mainstream flow. The best of the bunch being “Live Your Life”, “Stunt”, “Goyard Walk” and “Demon”.
All are richly textured, with an eclectic range of beats to match. Straw Kennedy’s willingness to tread his own path has led him to create songs that certainly do have the potential to last and not fade away. They’re “out there” enough to feel special, to feel exciting, but not to sound too alienating.
OFFICIAL LINKS: SOUNDCLOUD – INSTAGRAM
