MP3: Symba – “Classic Man” Freestyle, “R.I.C.O.” Freestyle
Rapper Known for Acrobatic Wordplay Liberates Two Freestyles While Fans Await New Album
07.27.2015
The Songs:
For several weeks, California-based rapper Symba has been releasing new content every Thursday and today, he’s releasing two new freestyles while fans await his upcoming original music. On the first freestyle over Jidenna‘s original, “Classic Man,” Symba sounds native to Jidenna’s instrumental with an energetic verse (and singing) about his aspirations for luxury and leisure. On the second over Meek Mill and Drake‘s single, “R.I.C.O,” the Berkeley native raps over Vinylz‘ original production with an aggressive verse to match the the song’s initial intensity. Both freestyles serve as the latest precursors to Symba’s upcoming mixtape, II More Words. Previous releases include freetyles over Fetty Waps‘ “My Way, Mobb Deep‘s classic, “Quiet Storm,” and The Game and Drake’s original, “100,” which was released via Bay Area-based blog Thizzler. With each release, Symba has continued to gain momentum towards his upcoming project as he proves his lyrical competence. “Music is the first thing in my life that I’ve really had to work for,” Symba explains. “That’s what keeps me motivated…The fact that this is the first thing I’ve had to take from people…Every time I am putting my pen on the paper I am giving it to you and it’s not gon’ stop.”
Symba’s freestyle series is preceded by his 2013 EP, Young Nate Nino, which channels Wesley Snipes in the film New Jack City. “Not following your usual Bay Area formula, Symba attacks the microphone with more aggressive tracks instead of the party or club lane” ONSMASH explained in their coverage of the EP. “As you can hear on his 8-track effort, Symba has some shit to say and this just the beginning.” Young Nate Nino followed Symba’s previous, full length album, the predecessor to his upcoming project, II Words. Earmilk, who published an editorial introducing the rapper using his II Words visual “Winning Pt. 2” wrote, “while the visuals Aquavis Warfield has constructed for Symba’s “Winning Pt. 2″ are compelling, the Berkeley-born rapper has the lyrical aptitude to carry a listener well through the song, even on to the next.” Symba has also released several videos along the way, which have garnered him additional coverage on WorldStarHipHop and The Examiner. Preceded by the freestyles that further help put the rapper in the spotlight, 2 More Words will be the culmination of Symba’s work since his 2013 EP.
Listen to “Classic Man” Freestyle: https://soundcloud.com/therealsymba/classic-man-freestyle
Listen to “R.I.C.O.” Freestyle: https://soundcloud.com/therealsymba/rico-freestyle
Please contact Michelle or Rory if interested in talking with Symba.
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Symba Background:
When he was 18 years old, Bay Area rapper Symba had the world in his back pocket. Not only was he a promising basketball player but he also was well on his way to a promising music career. He lived with his parents in a comfortable suburb in an impressive house with six cars in the garage. Everything, it seemed, was going his way. Then, the bottom caved in. One day, the police yanked him from class, telling him his father made bad investments with his clients’ money. Symba and his family went from having money to burn to losing everything and getting by day-by-day. “It humbled me,” he says. “Life hit me hard, and I had to learn backwards — I had to learn things people usually learn at the beginning of their life. But I was spoiled and I had everything. I didn’t care about people’s emotions, people’s feelings. It made me understand that everything that comes with money — it really ain’t shit.”
Symba poured all of that learning into 2 More Words, a fiery collection of songs that balances club-ready hooks with deft, incisive narratives. He flips styles constantly, going from grinding, insistent rapping to lithe melodic singing. On “In Too Deep,” he begins by pouncing on the beat before gliding into a gorgeous, minor-key chorus. This is Symba’s M.O.: balancing, tough, punching verses with gliding, hook-laden choruses. Above all, it is designed to inspire people going through similar struggles not to give up hope and not to abandon their dreams. “What I want people to realize is that they should never let someone tell them they can’t do something,” he says. “Never put yourself down because of your current state of life. Never let your future go. In the life we live today, it’s damn near impossible to believe in yourself. But no matter what’s hitting you in life, never lose sight of the bigger picture. Because that’s what you’re living for at the end of the day.” That’s the message that turns up on 2 More Words time and again: that no struggle is too great to fight through, and that belief and determination can triumph over any odds.
Links:
official site | twitter | instagram | soundcloud
“Classic Man” Freestyle: https://soundcloud.com/therealsymba/classic-man-freestyle
“R.I.C.O.” Freestyle: https://soundcloud.com/therealsymba/rico-freestyle