The new album from Chicago-based artist roar taylor, kostner is a consuming hip-hop success. With a commanding mix of grit and grace, the record finds him pairing sharp lyricism with richly textured beats, threading ambition, grief, and resilience into narratives that feel both deeply personal and universally resonant. Its sound is big and unflinching, yet unafraid to sit in moments of reflection.
“lottery pick” kicks off the album with a soulfully invigorating charisma, infusing triumphant-sounding brass and infectious rhythms amidst roar taylor’s precise vocal flow. “What’s the Jacksons without a frontman? What’s a young man without a check? Just a jumpman,” the vocals let out, artfully capturing ambition and its role on identity and status — asking how much value one truly has without their defining feature and drive for greatness.
PaperWork features on the ensuing “mike in retrograde,” captivating in its magnetic beat — infusing dreamy vocal samples and pulsating bass, as the emcees provide both reflections — “let’s go back when we was younger and still had that hunger” — and current-day laments; its take on how hardships and resulting perseverance build inner-strength is particularly impactful.
Another standout track, “say less” traverses with a mellower disposition tonally in its lushly repeating instrumentation. roar taylor and Uncle Cam immerse with their vocal insights, exploring the hardships apparent for young black men in a society that’s often harsh and biased. “You gotta be smarter than him, harder than them,” roar taylor’s vocals exude, lamenting a “harder of hearing” and “parking our feelings” in response to this strife — resulting in built-up emotion and frustration, which Uncle Cam also captures in brisker form across the track’s second half.
The subsequent “nod ya head(the processional)” continues conveying personal struggle, here in the context of mourning. Serene guitar twangs and soulful wordless vocal elements complement the commanding lyrical drive, saying from the get-go that the track “goes out to everybody who have lost somebody.” “Lost my sister now my head, placed a picture by my bed,” the anguish is apparent, further emitting the lingering impacts of losing a family or friend. Features from Major and PaperWork inject further emotion. “Trying to process all this pain,” a particularly enthralling segment admits, building seamlessly to a heartfelt send-off.
The highlights continue throughout kostner. The title track unveils a late-night vibe in its vibe-y keys and vocal introspection, demonstrating a carpe-diem sentiment within a beat that reminds fondly of early Kendrick. “marcellus” also compels with its warbly, spacey production — sounding like a lovable cross between Thundercat and Shabazz Palaces — while album finale “black forces” plays with shades of Tupac in its “my vision is clear” lyrical strut, hauntingly throwback beat and evident lyrical wisdom, traversing through stories of the projects and a life full of perseverance. kostner establishes roar taylor as a voice of weight and intention, crafting music that confronts struggle head-on while carving out space for hope, power, and perseverance.
