Kota the Friend - The Marty McFly of Hip - Hop
Kota the Friend is unlike most of the rappers in modern mainstream hip-hop. He isn’t flashy, and he doesn’t have that unique sex appeal others embody and embrace more than their talents today. Remember when Bishop Nehru had all these comparisons (like Nas), making him to be a star of the new generation with an old soul? No? Yeah, well, me neither. He definitely had the initial underground hype that brought about many ears from the community, but he was another redundant rapper.
Kota the Friend is unlike Bishop. He has the consistency and vigor to make inspiring and relevant music. It is very unlike the music coming from the city currently. He definitely evokes a demeanor and look, like he has made it to his comfort zone of success. His music isn’t what can be called universally appealing, but the current success he has can always grow. Artists always want to grow. Kota, however, keeps the consistency while continuously growing his notoriety in the hip-hop community.
The easiest comparison for him is a young Blu molded for the eloquent jazz boom-bap instrumental that was predominant in the golden age of hip-hop. His smooth flow and songwriting abilities are matched by his ear for instrumentals.
There are these ways Kota looks for producers who have the capabilities to smoothly mix anything into the overall boom bap realm. “Colorado,” evolves its sound with high notes in the piano, strings, and percussion. But he is able to turn something short into a more flourished and multi dimensional track, like “Birdie” featuring Hello Oshay. He even dropped a project full of crazy short tracks that are lyrical flexes without that derivative feeling.
The prototypical rappers today make more melodic or rambunctious - loud and innocuous music that are more for the appeal than the story. Kota follows similar trends in the subject matter he covers, but he is capable of making the song unique to his sound. In a way he turns it into an auteur piece of beauty with each project he has made. It is, for lack of a better term, artistic variants that create overall whimsical and charming loops from its percussion.
Kota the Friend is an ever growing blip on the radar, ready to transcend hip-hop if the cards are dealt for prominence. Though his prominence, right now, remains revered for construct and delivery. Even his music videos have influenced styles reminiscent of the 90s nostalgia trend. Simple videos with cassette filters and oblique edits and the subtitles more prevalent in foreign film subtitles. So pretty much every hipster’s favorite rapper.