While KOTA The Friend’s name may ring more familiar in some circles, it is Audio Push member, Price, who managed to secure the lead in the pair’s single, “MAYA”. Price, now seeking to release his first solo album, found a bigger break for his solo-career than most when he acquired a deep-seated feature from KOTA.
Still, the pair exchanges verses seamlessly, as if they were old friends catching up. A tender horn radiates and echoes in a wavering melody as a sharp percussion of rapid hi-hats and rustic claps ensue.
The countering elements clash beautifully, as a somber apparatus serves as the backdrop for the lyrical contemplation we’d expect of an elder statesman kindred to Black Thought, as opposed to an artist still prepping for the release of their debut album.
Price’s impending release, CLRD., is slated to drop on October 16th, with “MAYA” serving as the third and potentially final tease of the album’s contents.
Despite the narrow range of songs for comparison, “MAYA” readily shows Price at a new lyrical height as he goes back-to-back with KOTA. A reference to the acclaimed Maya Angelou book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, the pair likens the socioeconomic disenfranchisement of African-Americans to a colored bird whose beauty is restricted by a cage.
The haunting maturity of a fresh voice is an irony that only manages to elevate the potency of the song’s advocacy for earnest ambition and expression.
Quotable Lyrics:
You see it's bad enough when we
See cops that gotta frisk and smoke
But then we hear stupid sh*t, like you know
Black people kill each other the most
As if it ain't human nature to kill or attack whatever is close
Whatever comes with a negative approach
It's another way to put a rope on our throats