Photo credit: Aidan Routhe (instagram.com/aidanrouthe)
So many rappers reflexively run with whatever’s hot that you have to admire the few willing to risk carving their own path, even if it means blowing up a winning formula. The MT Twins became one of the most followed acts in the Milwaukee rap scene thanks largely to feel-good, hyper-youthful videos that played up the siblings’ impeccable pop instincts. But rather than lean into the teen-idol thing that worked so well for them, on recent projects they’ve pivoted to a more reflective, emotional sound—music that’s pleasant on the ears but sits heavy on the soul.
The gambit paid off on their beautiful 2018 album Blue Hearts, and it continues to on their new Voice of The Youth, the first of three projects the duo has planned for 2019. Brothers Dexxx and Donno aren’t sugarcoating anything; there’s no fantasy in these nine songs, most of which are filled with desperation, violence, heartbreak and betrayal. The brothers fill their verses with pulse-quickening anecdotes, whether they’re rapping about sneaking a couple grams through customs on “No Love Song” or a rapidly escalating beef on “223.”
There’s hardly a verse where the two aren’t sharing something meaningful, and there are lyrics on here so personal that it almost feels like a violation just transcribing them. On “Love Lost,” they address the disconnect between the glamour people project on them and the far more humble reality: “We were just sleeping on the floor, they said we living lavish/I had no mattress, I was trapping, I wasn’t being flashy/Had a few dollars but would give it up if my n****s asked me.” And on “Hood Superstars” they frame their success not in terms of finances but rather sense of self. “They tell us we thugs, we know who we are/To the city we’re more than that, we some hood superstars,” they sing.
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As if these nine tracks weren’t enough to digest, the same day that MT dropped Voice of The Youth they also shared a video for a gut-punch of a track not on the record, “All I Know.” You can stream that video below along with the album, and check out our profile on MT from last month if you missed it.
