Illsamar is an emcee from Southern California that has emerged in the past couple of years to show some significant potential, starting with an EP in 2018 called Foreign. There have been a couple of singles since then, but now it’s time for a new EP, Foreigners.

As you might surmise from the title of this EP, a good portion of Foreigners is about Illsamar grappling with her identity as a first generation Mexican American immigrant, being filled with the hope and promise of America, and then seeing all the ways in which the country has failed to live up to those expectations and made her feel like she doesn’t belong. For the EP, she’s enlisted the help of Asaiah Ziv, StanSmithOnDaTrack, Rob Kelly, DROBYTHEKEY, and Louden Beats to contribute production. The way it’s sequenced, we start with some harder trap beats, which helps Illsamar come across confidently on the mic as she drops her thesis statement, and then transitions into some more laid-back soul-sampling beats as the EP progresses, allowing Illsamar to open up about her personal issues. If you’re asking about the thesis statement, you don’t need to look any further than the opening track, “Extranjeros,” in which she raps in both Spanish and English, “We some foreigners/Y’all can’t order us/Building businesses/Y’all ain’t owning us/We some foreigners.” Illsamar might feel angry and disappointed about the xenophobia she’s faced as a Mexican American, especially under the current administration, but she also refuses to accept that as the way it is. In “Rivals,” she pushes for more people of color to be represented in the government, so that the government might actually address their needs. Over the next four songs, Illsamar claims her space as an emcee, but also opens up about her religion and her dreams as her career progresses, which helps you form a personal connection to her music as a listener.

Foreigners is a great step forward for Illsamar. She’s really talented on the mic and technically skilled as an emcee, but it’s her passion and her vision to deliver political and personal songs full of rage and love that really set her apart. I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.