A number of sharp observers have commented on the growing disparity between producers and rappers in the local hip-hop scene: Milwaukee producers keep improving, creating better, more professional and more original beats, while the Milwaukee rappers are... well, the same mixed bag they've always been. This isn't not unique to Milwaukee by any means: Technology has made it easier and more affordable than ever for producers to realize their vision, but there will never be a corresponding Pro Tools program for rappers that magically makes their rhymes funnier or more inspired. As a result, Milwaukee, like all cities, is releasing more albums than ever with A-caliber production and C-at-best rapping. Don't expect that trend to end anytime soon.
One of the few exceptions to the trend has been Pacino, a too-often overlooked up-and-comer with a cocksure presence, a truly distinct voice and a gift for head-spinning conceptual verses. On his promising 2009 mixtape, One of None, that talent wasn't matched by his low-budget, demo-like production. In an era of mixtapes that play like albums, One of None was a mixtape in the old-fashioned, basement-tracked sense. Even when the beats had vision to spare, they had little in the way of polish.
It's great, then, to hear the rapper rhyme over more finished production on his latest track, "Want It All," a club cut with Milwaukee pop-rap king Ray Nitti. The song proves that Pacino can do radio rap without tempering the cerebral rants that made One of None so brilliant. Here, Pacino cleverly plays on club rap's money-chasing motif, sidestepping the requisite boasts about his net worth in favor of a fierce meditation on greed and insanity. In his quest for cash, he paints himself less as a bottle-popping, Jay-Z-modeled entrepreneur than a crazy-eyed, Howard Hughes-esque obsessive clinging protectively to a rubber-banded shoebox. The track, which is available for streaming here or download here, testifies to Pacino's commercial potential while affirming him as one of Milwaukee's most vivid lyricists.
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