Raquel Divar is an emcee originally from San Francisco, but she’s been based in Portland, Oregon for several years now. Corey O is a producer from Portland who has been releasing music for the better part of the decade. For whatever reason, even though they’ve been at this for a while, they haven’t gained much recognition outside of the Portland area. Hopefully, that will begin to change as they team up and drop a new EP, The Reign.

Corey O might be from Portland, but he’s definitely taking some influence from the Bay, with a heavy dose of hyphy and EDM to his production. Big drums, booming bass, and lot of synthesizer form the backbone of this EP, as Corey O develops a soundscape that is ominous and energetic, demanding that you listen to this with the volume turned wayyyyy up. Divar works well with this style of production, with a very deliberate and pronounced flow, making sure her words cut through the songs and hit you right in the face as she claims all the space with her lyricism. She’s got a lot of confidence and charisma on the mic, matching Corey O beat for beat. We get one guest on the EP, with Alia Zin hopping on “Smith ‘N’ Wesson,” providing a nice contrast to Divar’s style with this smooth raspy flow that definitely caught my ear. The only thing the EP is missing is a little more space to expand their sound and give us a little more of a fully developed listening experience. Perhaps that will come later is they continue to work together. As it is, the EP serves as an energetic introduction to the duo.

The Reign is not an EP that is playing around. Corey O and Raquel Divar have come to demand your attention, pump things up, rock your world, and then bounce. This should definitely turn a few heads.