Words that bounced around in my head initially while listening to this relatively new hip-hop artist from Memphis, TN: potential, impressive, talented, hungry. With this said, I believe Marco Pavé has great upside and can potentially bolster the mainstream roster of southern conscious rappers. Marco created the Perception EP, a 5-track project with nice sounding beats and heartfelt bars, in November with the feature track “Road Less Traveled” being best-saved-for-last as well as the deepest lyrically.
Marco Pavé ’s style shows glimpses of a favorite of mine, Big K.R.I.T, with a mix of Royce da 5’9, being a conscious rapper who can entertain as well as inform. Conscious rap is often discouraged by being too ‘deep to market’ but Marco took me by surprise with his ability to communicate his message while keeping the music hoppy enough to enjoy and not feel overwhelmed with the artists’ frustrations.
The EP, specifically this song “Road Less Traveled”, is an introspective piece that peers into 21- year old Marco’s life, painting pictures with his songs, those often drowning in bars like a Kendrick Lamar swimming pool. Marco’s content is abundant yet both understandable and relevant, speaking on topics fans would agree are distressing and all too common in the life of a person his age in today’s society, using these experiences to encourage others like him to persevere.
Marco vents about his environment, society as a whole, his unwillingness to conform to having 9-to-5 type occupations, etc. He specifically references working at a popular fast food restaurant and him supposedly quitting, saying he’d rather chase his dreams instead of work for what he called ‘slavery money,’ a feeling which many listeners could relate to. The chorus of the song references the title, saying that the road less traveled his tough but is worth the hardship, and that he is determined to see his musical journey through to the end saying he’s ‘gone too far to stop now’, an apparent theme of his throughout the EP.
If asked about the instrumental in the track, I’d say it is solid and matches the mood perfectly, with it’s sample of vocal moans, synth, standard hip-hop style percussion and hint of piano that you hear more of at the very end. The song might not shut down the club, but will surely garner respect for the young Tennessee native as he traverses the hip-hop scene. I say keep up the good work and don’t settle, I can see success on it’s way.
The Perception EP was released by Marco’s own label Radio Rahim Music, and is available to listen to on iTunes, SoundCloud and on his website.
|| MARCO PAVÉ – “ROAD LESS TRAVELED”
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