Artist Spotlight: Willyynova; A Windy City Wordsmith  Photo Credit: Spotify  It all started with dope cover art and a little bit of chance. Music that is needed in your life has a way of finding you when you don’t look for it. The process of actively looking for music has always been a fruitless venture for me. I had the experience of striking a gold mine recently with the addition of Willyynova as a part of my personal rotation. The Chicago Emcee has been releasing music under the moniker Willyynova (@willyynova) since 2021 with five albums to date. The most recent release being PARDON MY SLEEZE.  Photo Credit: Spotify PARDON MY SLEEZE is also my first point of reference for Willyynova. The cover of this album made me double back and give it a listen. I couldn’t let a piece of art this captivating leave my vision without allowing myself the chance to delve into it.    My ears were met with the lush melancholic string instrumental of the intro track, “GHETTODIANAROSS Pt. 1.” This instrumental alone was enough for me to want to stick with this album, and subsequently other bits and pieces of Willyynova’s discography. Little is publicly known about the Chi-town emcee, but I hope to provide you as the reader a point of reference to a hidden gem in the realm of Hip-Hop which many of the artists I have previously written about inhabit. I am not one that enjoys comparing one artist to another, but I see one of the great pioneers of 21st century hip-hop reflected in his work, and that would be none other than the legendary Roc Marciano. Photo Credit: Thekla Bristol  To contextualize this statement, I see Roc Marci’s influence in this specific sphere of underground rap in a similar way in which Young Thug has influenced much of trap in the last five to ten years. Having said this, know that Willyynova is not one who poorly reflects the influence he takes on. There are more artists that can be counted within rap today who are striving to replicate styles, and many other emcees falling terribly short of the influences they have attempted to take on.  Like others in his niche, the lyrical content of Willyynova is not as overt as what you might find with many other emcees. In terms of abstract lyrics he is not quite as cryptic as a Billy Woods or an Earl Sweatshirt, but his music still requires attentive listening. With this said, his beat selection is near impeccable, and there is a growing satisfaction I have found with listening to Willyynova in the brief duration of time I have been enjoying his music. This satisfaction comes with being more receptive to the lyrical essence of each song, as well as the delicately crafted instrumentals laid down from track to track that can be instantly appreciated. Tracing back to PARDON MY SLEEZE, this album is a short to medium length album consisting of 16 tracks and a 38 minute run time. This is a very strong album on Willy’s part, dense with soul, gospel, and cinematic string samples. This LP thematically ranges from clever braggadocio to somber streams of consciousness and everything in between. I believe that this project is absolutely worth a listen. Although my main critique would be that the back end of the project could be more cohesive. The outro track “DIAMONDS OR COAL” is a decent track, but I feel that this album could have had a grander ending that brought a stronger sense of closure, and this can also be said about the last two to three tracks. Regardless, my favorite tracks were “GHETTODIANAROSS PT. 1.” “THOUSANDYARDSTARE,” “REGALSTAR,” “TESLACOIL,” and “INFINITY STONE.”          Considering this is an artist that is somewhat fresh onto the scene, I highly recommend Willyynova’s music for people who are fans of Griselda Records, Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist, and Freddie Gibbs. He is of a familiar breed of thought provoking emcees who have shaped the landscape of rap during this last decade, and they continue to prove their role as trailblazers for the genre in this present moment as well as for the foreseeable future. Willyynova is amongst the more recent additions to this rich subgenre of underground rap. I see the remainder of the 2020’s being a period of time which allows to him to became a trailblazer in his own regard. Willyynova is already ahead of the curve with a strong five album run and a very high ceiling. There is much to be impressed with, much more room to grow, and much to look forward with Willyynova in the present and in the future. Photo Credit: Spotify