North Carolina’s most imminent rising rap superstar TiaCorine makes the statement that she’s well on her way to the top with brand new EP, ‘Almost There’

Across the new eight-track-wide EP, TiaCorine cleverly explores the relationship between hip-hop and digital cultures by creating a steampunk anime-reminiscent sonic landscape in which she playfully interpolates a diverse range of converging rap styles. On ‘Almost There’,  TiaCorine embodies all the braggadocio of the bad b*tch rapper archetype, whilst simultaneously offering up a musical atmosphere which pushes the envelope when it comes to the whimsical nature of contemporary black music escapism. 

From the outset of the tape, opening track ‘Young Joc’ featuring Luh Tyler entices the listener in with its infectious youthful energy. An energy which TiaCorine carries throughout, adopting an array of sonic themes to create the EP’s conceptual arc. An early example of this would be the videogame reminiscent rage instrumental - courtesy of Opium’s WAKEUPF1LTHY - that underpins standout track ‘Blick’ featuring Key Glock. Another track which speaks to the youthful, rap-centric and reminiscent nature of the record, ‘Olive’ featuring Detroit’s Zelooperz’, interpolates elements taken from old school Southern hip-hop culture to create a hybrid rap genre; a musical style that had previously been catapulted into the mainstream via the early sonic trappings of Harlem’s A$AP Rocky. As we listen to ‘Olive’ interpolate syncopated basslines, a bell-heavy melodic line and driving hi-hats to tell each rappers’ rags to riches story respectively, it’s almost impossible to not feel a nostalgia for Rocky's breakout single ‘‘Peso’. 

On the latter half of the EP, TiaCorine gives another rapper, Eminem, a run for his money on the viral single ‘Bonnet’, delivering lightspeed bars that are served up meticulously, and with a healthy dose of charisma. Not only this, the track’s accompanying visual harnesses a similar slapstick comedic value to that of something the prolific Detroit rapper would have offered up in his early MTV days. Later closing out the tape on the notes of standout tracks’ ‘Shamone’ and ‘Nah He Tweakin’ - two bubblegum trap-pop hybrid instrumentals that coalesce perfectly with TiaCorine’s modulated vocals - it’s clear that the rapper’s carefully referenced musical experimentations are only growing in grandeur. Thus, ‘Almost There’ encompassingly feels like TiaCorine is expanding further into the sonic world established on her debut album I Can’t Wait. Across all of the EP’s unmissable new cuts, the rapper distinguishes herself as a sonic experimentalist that’s clearly on her way to the top of her game.

Listen to TiaCorine's new EP Almost There here!