Yes, it’s Thanksgiving. But unfortunately, not everyone has a family to chill with during the spirited holidays. For those who are really embedded in the streets, South Side Jamaica Queens natives SoulGroupUniverse released a thoroughly hard knock life mixtape dubbed, Soul Food.
Capping out at 10 tracks, Soul Food is a gritty, and all-too-familiar, ride through super aggressive corners, and crack houses, where candles are used for heat and light. Not only does Soul Food come off as authentic, but the project’s flows are fluid, and the honest-to-god sixteens are sincere.
“I’m in the hood to remin myself/I’ma have to lose myself just to find myself/’Cause when I had to sell drugs, I was outside myself/And when the car had to move, I had to drive myself/What more could you want from a nigga who ain’t have nothing, but always knew that he wanted something/Of course, I had to bag-up/Next time I see the courtroom the judge ain’t gon’ be feeling me/But he don’t understand, I’m just swipping the cards that were dealt to me,” raps Stargiela on the title track.
Star, 808, Saj, and Chello–the MCs who make-up SoulGroupUniverse–are really day-ones. The quartet have been friends since elementary school at P.S. 160. After spitting rhymes on their blocks in Queens, SGU released their first mixtape, Soul Group University, back in 2015. After a host of mixtapes on the underground circuit, SGU finally inked a deal with New York City-based Commission Music in 2017.
“The music was real. I felt every word, and I’ve seen their progress. I wanted that L.O.X. and Mobb Deep feeling. Soul Food has that,” says Akeem, A&R of Commission Music.
If you’re into muddy street-hop minus the clichés, then SoulFoodUniverse are them guys that you should definitly pay attention to.
Stream Soul Food below.