91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn

Smino, 'Rice & Gravy'

It's been a while since I've heard an ode to my hometown of St. Louis, Mo. Leave it to a fellow STLien to deliver a dedication that stretches from North County to the South Side. Smino locked with his go-to producer, Monte Booker, for a midtempo, bass-heavy bop that's almost as colorful as his own cadence. As with most Smino cuts, his gift of melody elevates the production, he pushes the limits of conventional song structure and some things could go over your head if you're listening too slow. "Rice & Gravy" sticks to the ribs because it's slightly more settled, while still sounding like nothing and no one in hip-hop right now.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Bobby Carter is a leader on the Tiny Desk Concerts team for NPR Music. He's brought an ever growing roster of big names and emerging artists through NPR's HQ to squeeze behind the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen and record standout performances, including Usher, Mac Miller, Noname, Anderson.Paak and H.E.R.
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