In Rotation: Stove God Cooks

Syracuse isn't exactly the first city you check for rap royalty. But six years ago, Stove God Cooks dropped Reasonable Drought—a gritty marvel fully produced by Roc Marciano—and completely hijacked the underground conversation. He delivered raw street imagery through a raspy, melodic howl. Then came the label politics. Miscommunications with Babygrande stalled his solo output so badly he was calling JAY-Z for advice on how to navigate the red tape. He kept his name hot doing heavy lifting for the Griselda camp and recently traded bars with legends on "F.I.C.O." from Clipse's Grammy-nominated album. But a legendary feature run isn't a discography. Now, he is finally dropping his sophomore album, All This For Me?, on March 27. He tapped Swizz Beatz to produce the entire project. Underground purists will probably complain that he left the basement sound behind. They are dead wrong. Stove’s massive personality always felt a little too big for minimalist production. Roc Marci gave him a dark alley to operate in. Swizz gives him a Madison Square Garden stage. On the lead single "Welcome To My Garden," Swizz provides heavy, hard-hitting drums that actually match the sheer volume of Stove's ego. He stretches his vocal cords on the hooks, turning street tales into stadium anthems. When the bass drops under the second verse, the gravel in his voice cuts right through the chaos. The industry is finally catching up to what the streets already knew. "The Aroma" just claimed the #1 spot on Apple Music’s BARS playlist. Traditional radio is waking up too. Hot 97 and WNYU are putting him in heavy rotation locally, and the record is even pulling adds out west on LA's LITT Hip-Hop. The six-year drought is over. Hit play below.