I know I keep touching on the idea of art helping us through the rest of this year, but artists keep dropping more and more content to refocus us. The latest in this endeavor is North Carolina emcee Rapsody.

Rapsody, who is signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, has been on the scene since about 2009. I personally didn’t get hip to her until she dropped her Thank H.E.R. Now mixtape in 2011, but since then I’ve been sold. The very next year she released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful and it was one of my favorite albums from that year. Fast-forward to just last year when Rapsody was featured on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly on the track “Complexion," a major feature for the artist.

All of that being said, my expectations for Rapsody’s sophomore album have skyrocketed. Although I thought we were getting her next full-length this year, out of nowhere the North Carolina native has dropped the Crown EP. What I love about Rapsody is that even her EPs sound like albums. This one comes in at 10 tracks, timing at almost 40 minutes. I’m not complaining though, Rapsody’s wordplay, confidence and flow over beats never get old. Vocal features come by way of Anderson .Paak, Ab-Soul, Moonchild and Raphael Saddiq. Rapsody comes correct on this EP, and I honestly believe she’ll have an album of the year contender when her sophomore effort comes out. Enough of me yapping, you can stream Rapsody’s Crown EP below. If you like what you hear, download the EP for free!

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