Artistic expression can serve as the remedy for a myriad of problems, extraneous and internal. In the case of DMV MC KHIRY oviim, art may be serving as the refuge from the consequences of being an artist in the first place. The 20-year-old was recently kicked out of his parents’ home because they disagreed with his decision to pursue a rap career, and now he’s fending for himself.
Currently shacked up in his friend’s dorm room, KHIRY started a GoFundMe for funds to cover “rent, utilities, and food expenses in an apartment” near his job for one year. It appears he’s betting on his skills to eventually cover the cost, and judging by his recently released “Foreplay: black & Unmastered” track, he has a good chance.
KHIRY exhibits a keen social awareness on the track, leading off by asking, “how you ’bouta act when they come for you for you not doin’ nothing wrong?” Over an evocative guitar loop, KHIRY waxes on police brutality, the inner-city plight, and the all-too inherent racism that causes it all. His current situation makes his “the Black man only man out here dyin’ to live,” assertion that much more resonant.
The track switches up into a slightly slower trap vibe, which sinks KHIRY into a first person narrative, noting he has “weed tucked beneath scrotum, cause police sure love to reach quotas.” The young MC’s dire delivery augments an impressive double-time flow on the second half of the track.
Hopefully KHIRY soon finds the shelter he needs near his job—and a studio.
“Foreplay: black & Unmastered” can be streamed below.
