Drake and Meek shocked the world when they engaged in a heated battle on wax, so much so that NPR even felt compelled to weigh in on the story. In the 90’s, aggression in hip-hop was the norm, but somewhere in the mid-2000’s it devolved into mainly “party music,” without an ounce of ingenuity of Kurtis Blow or Dougie Fresh. However, in the last few years, rappers put a high premium on aggressive lyrics, and emcee’s are once again hungry to compete to be unanimously named the “greatest rapper alive.”
While most of the hip-hop world has never heard of Frank Peters, his music is imbued with that same sort of raw energy that the genre had been missing for an extended period of time. And unlike D4L and the like, Peters’ “party music” has an edge to it– equipped with real-talk in place of the standard contrived lyrics that litter the radio. In 2013, he was named by both VH1 and MTV as “Artist To Watch,” and has opened for the likes of Juicy J, Lil Kim, and Afroman (yes, he is still around). Back in 2005, he got his first real wind after headlining Urban Exposure in London. For Peters, music should encompass life itself– fun at times but also cognizant of the unfortunate realities we are all forced to deal with from time to time.
Although he has been in the game quite a while, his star is steadily rising: “There’s no quitting, if I was gonna do that I would have done that a long time ago. My music is new, fresh and chock full of Cha”RIZZ”ma.” With a minimum of twelve singles listed on Reverbnation, along with almost twenty hip hop videos floating around on Youtube, it is safe to say that Frank Peters could be hip-hop’s next big thing. According to Cynthia Kahn (no, not Chaka Chaka Kahn), Founder of Amused Now Entertainment: “I listened to all Frank Peters’ songs on ReverbNation and his approach to rap is quite unique My favorite single is Getting It In, because he leads with one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman), something you definitely would not expect to hear from a rap artist. I also love Frank Peters’ single Until 2Marrow, because of the amazing singing by Venom Vendetta, the song’s producer, at the beginning of the song and throughout the chorus. Frank Peters is extremely talented.”
With the release of 2015’s Fifty Shades of Frank, Peters is looking to capitalize on his current momentum, while simultaneously introducing himself to the people who might not be aware of his music, such as “American Interlude.” Not quite like any of his previous projects, the album features a plethora of flows and catchy instrumentals, like the perfect meshed-vibe of “Ambitionz.” However, there be no better example of Peters’ overall agenda (fusing the old-school party aesthetic of early hip-hop with gritty lyricism) than “Get It Right.” Everyday, I’m flooded with tweets by rappers/beatmakers trying to get on, so I listen to more amateurish sounding music than a healthy person should. However, Peters’ Fifty Shades of Frank is honestly one of the most intriguing projects I’ve come across this year. But who gives a f### what I think? Listen for yourselves.
Almost forgot. If you are a fellow digger of Peters’ music, make sure to follow his movements on the interwebs:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrankPetersMusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frankpeters430
