MUSIC: COLE HICKS “MAYDAY” ALBUM REVIEW & STREAM

Cole Hicks’ Mayday is here. Cole made her triumphant return to the stage at the debut edition of the RVA Lyricists Lounge and her presence in RVA’s hip-hop community has been in high gear ever since. She killed the RVA Lyricist Lounge cypher at the VMFA, and then dropped a surprise joint project with RVA’s own Joey Gallo called Golden Chariots.

It’s not going out on a limb to say that Hicks is possibly the most talented “free agent” in the city. She works closely with some of RVA’s most acclaimed crews, AGM and Charged Up Ent.  Every historic hip-hop crews, whether it was Roc-A-Fella,  Death Row, or even Cash Money have said that finding a woman MC that could hang with their crew was nearly impossible. And if you look at the hip-hop landscape today, Young Money with Nicki, and TDE with SZA, proves that finding that dope, dominate, woman voice is an unmeasurable asset (keywords being dope and dominate). In the 9th Wonder led Jamla Records, their top artist, Rapsody, is undeniably the star of their team, and this year, Rap carried Jamla to 2 Grammy nominations.

Cole has that type of lyrical talent. It may be too late to get her to be under any camp but if I were a record CEO, I’d do my best to lock her down now because, if she keeps up this type of quality output, the price is going up.

Mayday displays why I’m so high on Cole Hicks as an artist. The 12-track EP exemplifies her wide range of lyrical skill. And while I’m a fan of the tracks that she lyrically cuts your head off (“6495” on Golden Chariots), this project is a comprehensive approach to her music.  With production from NameBrand, Illmasetro (on the outro), and one of my new favorites B Rock (check our her Beats and Breakfast on IG), Mayday is a complete, quality, hip-hop album and it highlights what Cole does best; she is lyrical MC first and foremost. You don’t want to go bar-for-bar with her.

There are a number of standout tracks on Mayday but AGM producer NameBrand has been on a roll with hip-hop spirituals; he followed “Apologize Less” one of the most spiritual tracks on Michael Million’s Hard to be King album with “The Real” featuring Bri Luv on Mayday, giving us more Sunday morning. Gospel vibes may not be for everyone but here at the Cheats Movement, we appreciate not just the sound of the track but the feeling and spirituality within the track. That vibe truly transports the listener.  B Rock gets that same Cheats Movement nod on “Shine” a headnod-ballad with a dope touch of horns that moves the track to another level.

The lyrics on Mayday are mostly personal and reflective, with a positive message for black women. But don’t get it twisted, “Revenge” proves Cole can hit you with the lyrical uppercut at any time. And “Pressure” lets us know that Hicks is not going to fold under any condition.

I stopped doing album rankings a few years ago because I couldn’t handle the emotional reactions from the artist I was reviewing – but damn – if any year will get me back in my review bag, it’s 2018. Mayday is the just latest of several quality projects coming out of Central VA. I’d rank Mayday near the top of my imaginary (maybe real) list of 2018.