This Baltimore rapper was brought to my attention at the first DMV Fest when he captivated the audience with his performance. His stage presence was enough but his charisma and obvious passion for music was infectious when he spoke with us. We had the privilege of hearing and discussing some of his new album Risk and Rehabilitation during both fests. We saw “Welcome” preformed to slow down a higher energy set which showed his diversity and shocked us all. Loco demonstrates his talent for spitting bars throughout his entire project. I personally love the songs that he sings on because his catchy melodies help the bars stick. My favorite tracks he sings on are “High / Low”, “Got Her” and “Face”. It seems he leans more into an R&B vibe this project sprinkling in hard rapping throughout. Risk and Rehabilitation had a great balance of emotion; the project overall was a lot of fun to listen to. I think it’s important for emotion to be conveyed in any form of art and Loco did extremely well with that. His tracks “Sedative”, “Od” and “Dr.Strange” give us a glimpse of the pain he carries in his life, even if it’s just in the hook of “Being traumatized by his timeline,” he gives you emotion in this project for sure. A common name I hear appear is Buckz one of Loco’s best friends that he recently lost. His loss seems to be an inspiration to live the way he believes both him and Buckz would be proud of. When we were talking to loco in his interview, he mentioned his friend even being a part of his pre–performance ritual. It seems Buckz pushes his whole friend group to do what they are passionate about just by mention of his name. I heard “Long Live Buckz” all night at those fests and they certainly carry his memory with integrity. I never met him but just having met his friends at the DMV Fests I can tell he was someone that both encouraged dreams and chased them himself. He was a talented rapper as well and even appears on “Slutty Talk” where him and Loco Lik spit hilarious bars allowing laughter to make its way onto the track. My favorite thing about Loco is the ability to make music about serious subjects and still have the whole project feel fun. I think most of that feeling is achieved in the last 2 songs. “Slutty Talk” being my favorite track just due to how much fun him and Buckz clearly had making it and “Fish Tank Freestyle” which has a true freestyle feel. Bars like “Give him a tampon like he got a nosebleed, Hogan headbutt him now he got a nosebleed” (referencing his manager and friend Hogan aka “Whtie Buckz”) just makes you laugh. The whole tone of the last two tracks wraps up Risk and Rehabilitation on a light note making me want to listen from the top to go through the emotional rollercoaster again. He spits some heat, he gives emotion, he sets a vibe and makes you laugh. I would say achieving all those in one project is a huge win. Please give Risk and Rehabilitation a listen yourself and “Long Live Buckz” you can tell Loco isn’t just doing it for himself.
If we are bringing up Buckz we must talk about his twin Hogan aka “White Buckz” I would just like to mention that this man goes out of his way to honor his best friend any chance, he gets “Doing it for Buckz” being something he has engraved on his heart (and something he often says). He pushes his friends’ careers to new heights with his tenacity and passion for music. He is management Loco and a lot of their crew. I discovered Loco and others due to his outreach. I just wanted the guy behind the scenes to be praised for carrying on his friend’s memory and being a critical part of their come up.