Some things still surprise me. The indie hip-hop scene, for example… it’s no surprise that it’s full of mediocrity and even down-right crap. Almost every urban artist that sends me a track sounds just like all the others. The videos tend to be third-rate at best and the “beats” are copies of the same old junk.

Then I get something like this one. This young man has style, intelligence, and the chutzpah to invest in his art with a high quality video and a professional mix. Not your average Dat-Piff fair, Y-Roc deserves a listen. In a couple years with a bit more experience, this is one rap artist that I believe actually has a chance to rise above.

16-year-old emcee Y-Roc presents the Nick Everhart-directed music video for “GITC”, a song over DJ Premier’s “Up Against The Wall” beat, made famous by NYC duo Group Home’s 1995 album Livin’ Proof, which Y-Roc rhymes over in full for his mixtape Livin’ Proof ’13. Picking up musical influences from his father’s record collection, albums like Reasonable Doubt, Low End Theory and Doe Or Die inspired Y-Roc to step to the mic. “The song came first about in my head when I was watching this old film where a guy was going all around New York and had girls all over the place,” says Y-Roc. “As he started getting more known as a player, the girls all figured it out and that’s when the trouble started. So I tried to write the song form the guys perspective and thats how it came about.” Livin’ Proof ’13 is available on Y-Roc’s Bandcamp page.

Y-ROC, “GITC”
(over Group Home’s “Up Against The Wall”)
directed by Nick Everhart | from the Livin’ Proof ’13 EP

Y-Roc on Bandcamp | on Twitter