Temperature's Rising: D. Green

Although it seems impossible to believe at times, there once was a time when New York produced legendary Hip Hop artists at a quicker rate than it takes Iggy Azalea to p### off a lot of people. But in the latest installment of “No S###” news, New York Hip Hop has taken a slide in the last decade or so. Furthermore, there are only a handful of East Coast artists that ascribe to the traditional New York sound. Influenced by the likes of Big Daddy Kane, Big Pun, Big L, Mase, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z and Jadakiss, D. Green is less interested in satiating ever-fleeting mainstream tastes than using music as an honest expression of his worldview. According to D. Green, starting his rhyme career at the tender age of 11, music was a way to temporarily escape the harsh realities of his South Bronx upbringing.

D. Green has steadily been building a name for himself in the last few years. His two part mixtape series, Go Green Or Go Home, first gave fans a taste of what the emcee was capable of, following that venture with the raw, DJ Lantern-hosted album Top Floor Mind State/Ground Floor Humility. With the recent success of the East Coast representatives like A$AP Mob, Action Bronson, and Joey Bada$$, D. Green is preparing to make a splash in the industry with his new EP F.E.W.

According to D. Green, the project is more personal than any of his previous projects: “This is For The F.E.W. Just a few songs, telling you my story in a few different ways. This EP is only For the F.E.W. The few who have truly enjoyed my music and my efforts as an artist. The few who are just getting acquainted with me, my music and want to see where I am going to take it. The few who are looking for something a little different in Hip Hop, if only for a few minutes. This is For The F.E.W. The #FansEveryWhere. No matter how many or how little, this is for you and I hope you enjoy.” The EP opens with the piano-laden “FansEveryWhere,” as D. Green meticulously outlines his mindstate: “It’s hard for me not to partake in the repetition/ There’s more to life than cars, poppin’ bottles and f#####’ women.” For the majority of the project D. Green lets his “realness over everything” approach to music bleed through, like on the up-tempo, bar-heavy heatrock, “Still.” On “Like This” he delves into the perks of monogamy rather than adhering to the tired route of bragging about his sexual conquests. By the end of the tape, D. Green affirms that he is one of the few emcees that puts a high premium on authenticity.