As I walked into the Arnetic a month ago my main intention was to support the CoolBeings event and enjoy a little local talent. Seeing how I receive submissions from all across the country, I was curious to see what hidden gems my city had to offer. There were some artist that I’ve seen before and some I personally knew. But there would be only one new face that would have me as a fan by the time I left the venue.

I remember seeing a real-life Huey Freeman being called to the stage. Before he began his set, something told me he would be different. The other artists were prepared with their instrumentals already burned on discs. The only thing they were waiting for was their time slot and it would be ready for rotation. As this particular artist took a seat on the edge of the stage, all he had were the clothes on his back, and a drummer to provide a steady beat.

Being at eye level with the audience, he began to speak about his life. It was just him, us, and the beat of the drum. There was no glitz, no glamour, just the sound of percussion and raw talent. He took us back to the days of kickin’ it on the block free-styling as your homeboy beat boxed. Back to the days where producers started with a pencil and the cafeteria table making beats during lunch hour. As he finished his set, crowd still in awe, he thanked the audience and said, “I go by the name of -Topic.”

Fast forward one month later and I’m attending his album release party. His performance was nothing less of amazing as he bared his soul on stage. At the very end he told us of the struggles he had to see and overcome just to get to July 28th, 2011. But throughout it all, he remained humble and grateful for anything and everything he had been blessed with.

Check out a stream of his album below:
So-So Topic – Finally Confident by drineee

If you love what you heard, purchase a copy for yourself here and support the artist as well as the art.

Be sure to follow Topic as well as Joonbug who did all of the art for this album on Twitter!