“GO!” by Star2

While there’s been a lot said about how talented a rapper is, there’s been little noted about the strength of his narratives, some of which have been on the more sensitive side of the hip-hop spectrum. Though his new single with HoodTrophy Bino “GO!” isn’t as emo as some of his previous works have been, this is certainly a more concise look into his fusion of R&B, hip-hop, and cultured trap as it’s been reimagined in the surreal age, and it’s a song that has made a lot of his critics reassess their opinion of his deft skillset.

The personality that Star2 brings with him into the studio has always been one of the more important elements of any given performance he’s given – at least among those that I’ve had the opportunity to review in recent times – and it’s found prominently in these lyrics once more. Where there’s a bit of hesitance on the part of HoodTrophy Bino, as there should be for the role he’s been asked to play here, our leading man is coming into this hook with a lot more attitude than even I had been expecting, which allows for his fluidity to be all the more enticing – and his melodicism to be just a bit more accessible to the audience.

Star2’s music video for “GO!” doesn’t assume we already know everything there is to know about this player, but instead presents us with the identity of his artistic drive as if we’ve never listened to his music before. His decision to get into this story with more of a rookie angle than that of the veteran performer he really is doesn’t encumber his talents at the microphone so much as it encourages us to look deeper than the cosmetics, which in turn opens up a worldliness a lot of rap fans might not be anticipating out of a purely indie voice.

There’s no question that Star2 is still trying to find the right rhythm for his cockiest of emissions, but his search yields some pretty endearing results in the exchange he has with his collaborator in this track. Rather than trying to front a trap beat with a lot of additional melodicism, which has essentially been the cheat code his rivals have been breaking out in the past couple of years, he’s getting after the beat with more enthusiasm than is warranted, which makes his statements all the more freewheeling and removed from a tethered emotionality.

Pop has some really great young players coming out of the woodwork, but for all of the artists who want to be known for their hybrid sound, I have yet to find another songwriter in the game who has the kind of energy Star2 has been infusing every one of his singles with. He’s still rolling the dice with a lot of different elements in and out of the studio, but if you’re a fan of this kid’s style, you already know that it’s when he gambles with the limits of his sound that we wind up with some of his classiest and most stinging songcraft.

Mindy McCall