Tough times can either make someone crumble and fail
to recover or rise and use the turmoil as fuel. That journey
sometimes gets described as being accompanied by fire
and lightning. That could possibly be behind the newest
release by the rapper Frequency, Fire and Lightning - The
Lightning Side. Frequency, who hails from Mesa, Arizona,
knows about tough times. A bulk of his lyrics deal with the
trauma of being raised in a broken home and constantly
moving from place to place. He turned to rap music as an
escape, and began to compose his own songs at the age of
9. Ten years later, he’s set to release his first album.
Frequency’s main draw is the ability to perform a budding
new genre of “EDM rap”, where electronic dance music and
rap are fused together. It’s what garnered him attention
from his label Hood and Associates, who signed him without
him even performing a track. The album gives you a clear
idea of why beginning with the first track, “Alternate State”.
It opens with a brisk and uptempo beat that is the hallmark
of trap-influenced beat production and Frequency wastes no
time, jumping and rhyming furiously. The Lightning Side is
peppered here and there with these fast-charged raps, but
you get a bit more insight into Frequency’s depth when the
pace isn’t so rapid-fire. On “Lightspeed”, which features
famed battle rappper Daylyt, the somewhat slowed beat
evokes a fully reflective mood that both ride with an easy
back and forth of rhyming. A side note about the other
guest appearances on the album - it’s an eclectic mix, with
Baby Bash on one track and the infamous Don Magic Juan
on the slick track entitled of course, “Pimpin’”. Through it
all, Frequency shows a measured confidence and vigorous
energy that you can tell will hold up well in small clubs and
vast outdoor stadiums. Fire and Lightning - The Lightning
Side may prove to be an electric entry for a new artist to
thrill crowds with. Find out more at his website.