There are very few emcees that have the bar for bar culturally relevant content that Locksmith has. One of the most admirable qualities evident in his penmanship is that he doesn’t cut corners. A master of articulating clear relatable concepts while maintaining the highest level of lyricism, Locksmith is quickly becoming your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.
His rich content, no bull-shit approach, and commanding mic presence give him a particular style of his own. Locksmith has been getting better and better at changing the pace of his flow seamlessly while never losing focus of his message. Where other emcees might resort to filler in their double-time, Locksmith’s content stays consistent.
Here’s his most recent appearance on Shade45 w/ Kay Slay (June 29, 2015):
My first exposure to Locksmith was through his 2013 cypher with Team Backpack. This particular verse (beginning at 3:08 in the video below) was nominated as the #1 Team Backpack verse of 2013:
Here’s his most recent Team Backpack verse (beginning at 2:30 in the video below) (April 20, 2015):
His latest release: Lofty Goals (June 30, 2015) is available on soundcloud.com and can be purchased on iTunes.com. I was looking forward to this release for a while and it did not disappoint. The 13 track project comes off as a very genuine and expressive culmination of who Locksmith is as a person and as an emcee. There are no shortage of ideas or references within his verses, but there are a few choice trains of thought that he comes back to from track to track, including the hip hop industry, personal relationships, growing as an individual, reflecting on injustice, and exposing media power (among others). Some of the tracks have choruses or more melodic sections that I personally was less interested in, but lyrically and conceptually this project is very impressive.
Here’s a couple of my favorite tracks on the album:
The Mic is the Message 