Kid Abstrakt is an emcee from Los Angeles who first made a splash with his 2017 album, Daydreaming, done in collaboration with producer Deli. He then improved on that with his 2020 album with Emapea, Jazzy Vibes. Now he’s back with a new EP, Higher Vibration.

One of the things that made Kid Abstrakt so appealing when he hit the scene was that he had such a maturity and easy going vibe to his music, like he had already been doing this for years. That’s definitely the feeling I got when I pressed play on Higher Vibration, like this EP had already been in my collection and in rotation for years, it just felt so familiar. To make the EP, Abstrakt enlisted the help of KwanLi Beats, Phoniks, Emapea, Midan, and PK Beatz on production, who all come together to establish that laid back jazzy boom bap style that Abstrakt goes for. It opens things up for him to hope on the mic and just start spitting freely with his smooth and conversational flow. The really smart thing about this EP is how careful Abstrakt was with the sequencing of the EP, so that everything really builds towards the end. The EP starts off light with some clever wordplay and a generally fun tone to the music, but by the time you get to the last two tracks, “Dear World,” and “Imagine,” Abstrakt is really opening up and going deep about the things in life that matter to him, namely his family, and his plea to others to live their lives with peace, love, and understanding. It’s a really heartfelt and passionate note to end on that will leave you with a lot to think about after the music ends.

High Vibration picks up right where Jazzy Vibes left off, and it continues to make the case that Kid Abstrakt is one of the best young artists making hip hop right now. He knows how to have fun and build some nice vibes, but he also knows when to kick it to another gear and get serious with things as well.