G Herbo's "Malcolm" Is Masterful Story-Rap

G Herbo shared his long-awaited debut album Humble Beast on Friday. Since it came out, one song has received a lot of attention, particularly due to Danny Brown's very public appreciation on Twitter. Produced by Herbo's frequent collaborator DJ L, "Malcolm" is a story of a Chicago kid who finds himself falling into the street life and before he knows it, facing the consequences. It's not a cautionary tale but a detailed look into a broken system. In the song's closing, Herbo imagines how things would have gone differently had Malcolm's circumstances been more ideal. 

Malcolm could've stayed in school and got a job though
But this was all that Malcolm knew, he from Chicago
Compare and contrast if Malcolm's from a rich town
His whole life was planned out since he was six pounds

Danny Brown was so impressed with the song, he urged the younger generation of rappers to take notes from it. "Please young up and coming rappers write more songs like G Herbo "Malcolm" .... do it for the culture," he wrote on Twitter. Danny also revealed that Humble Beast is the only thing he's listening to right now. 

Herbo recently spoke to HNHH about what he wanted to achieve with Humble Beast. "It reflects on everything that I’ve been through in my life, you know what I’m saying? It shows who I am today," he said. "It tells the story of me being a sixteen, seventeen year old young man from Chicago, growing up in a poverty stricken neighborhood to me doing everything that I’m doing now. I feel like the fans can expect, me. What’s true to me, Lil Herb/G Herbo. Everything I’ve ever been through that got me to this point in my life. Everything that I plan on doing 5 to 10 years from now. This is my story."

You can listen to the full project here.

Quotable Lyrics:
He shootin' now, streets got him,
Malcolm ruthless now
Mom still gettin' higher than a motherfucker
Malcolm used to cry at night
Shit a motherfucker
Ask hisself why every time he lie at night
Sometimes he even pray to God
And wish he die at night
He grown now
Had to get it on his own and
He know nobody gon' be there
When he alone and
So fuck it
He just gon' continue doing wrong then