Echo Virgil

 With this pad & pen, watch me heal thE bad within. –GOINES

               To be Young, Black & Gifted, Nina Simone wrote a song about it. Aretha Franklin made it an album. An artist has constant therapy with gifts given from a higher power. How does a rapper keep his credibility in an arena of hardcore mannerisms? Three words: SOMETHING to LOSE.

             As a fan of the artist, GOINES, you respect his consistency. Four mix tapes deep, you respect his evolution. Just when you thought It’s Gotta Be Black, you’ll realize June 29 he’s Something to Lose. Independent artist don’t get budgets and publicity to promote. Yet GOINES manages to keep you afloat of his arrival via his rousing status updates, always promoting with a pound. Something to Lose is vulnerable growth for GOINES’ aggressive west-coast bred, yet composed southern-raised exterior. Usually protected with sharp punch lines, “S2L” is an invitation to a psyche that embodies change. Not so much in his music delivery or illustrations, but his content. “the INTROVENTION“ is an instant blast for the mixtape’s title. You look at the cover (above) and desire to meld the words and photo. You see the void in the child’s eye, “the INTROVENTION” fills them. “Wasted Truth”, “Big Brother”, “The (in) na (me)”, “WAKE Up” and “NeVeR bE alone” does as well, with GOINES’ usual, wise & humble candor. GOINES raps, “See best raps, don’t always come from CD’s, up close & personal, the same just in 3D.” Giving a middle finger to the funny yet dismaying interlude following “Let It Go” via 2nd Quarter 2010’s Lead By Example. “WE made You”, “ThIS is It!”, “FED Up” is GOINES in touch again with his fiery resistance to mainstream, trends and conventional mindsets. The standout track, to gain, is S2L’s “Runnin”. A continuous rock rebel feel birthed during 2010’s “It’s Gotta Be Black”, “Runnin” does exactly that: RUN! Ah to be Young, Black & Gifted. That indeed is Nothing to Lose.