Kota the Friend is here to kick it with you

New York’s Kota the Friend has dropped his first project of 2021, To Kill a Sunrise.

The Brooklyn rapper/songwriter, born Avery Marcel Joshua Jones, has developed a name for himself recently.

Beginning with his 2016 mixtape Palm Tree Liquor, Kota has established himself as a technically skilled lyricist who makes himself right at home on everybody’s playlists.

Since his aforementioned debut project, Kota has released nothing but quality material. His latest independent project, To Kill a Sunrise is mellow – reminiscent of artists like GoldLink, Mac Miller and even early Kendrick Lamar. The project is a collaborative effort with record producer Statik Selektah, who boasts projects alongside Curren$y, Paul Wall and Freddie Gibbs.

The project features Kota’s signature lowkey flow, sliding over lo-fi beats courtesy of Selektah. In an era where mumble rap has been atop the scene, Kota brings back the old school vibes, and it’s refreshing to listen to.

The biggest names in the game – people like Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, DaBaby and Lil Baby – have popularized uptempo trap music, but that’s not to say there isn’t space in the game for pure lyricism still.

The project features only ten tracks with a run time of just 33 minutes, but sometimes (and in this case) less is more.

Personally, I tend to prefer shorter albums. I appreciate artists who can condense their bodies of work to fewer songs that better serve their message, as opposed to albums with 20+ tracks that include fillers just for length’s sake.

Tracks like “Hate,” “The Cold,” and “Live & Direct” are perfectly representative of Kota’s sound as a whole. The album is very solid and it’s beautiful to listen to how Kota has evolved since his debut project. Give it a listen to hear some insight on Kota’s journey from the streets of Brooklyn to rap stardom.

Favorite tracks: “Wolves,” “Day Glow,” “Sunrise,” “Sunset”

Rating: 7/10

Stream To Kill a Sunrise below.