As we reach the second Friday of December, we also reach the second Friday of Freecember, the tradition that Fake Four started a few years back of releasing free EPs and other projects by lesser known artists in hopes of getting them more exposure. This week, we travel to the central California town of Sonora to get an EP from an artist by the name of Oscar Goldman called Prevoid.

Goldman has been making music for over a decade, and released his first album in 2007. In 2010, he met producer Casey Chisolm, who’s been working with him ever since, including all the beats on this EP. The production on the EP is fairly minimal in terms of instrumentation, with keyboards and drum machines providing most of the arrangements. This isn’t new to the world of hip hop at this point, but the style in which it is deployed is a bit more unique, as Chisolm tends to mix a sort of baroque twee-pop style of keyboard melodies with trap and boom bap beats, reminding me a little of San Jose’s Lucid Optics. This style of production works well with Goldman, who is extremely open and personal as a lyricist. He works through the pain of losing his brother on “Youngins,” or just struggling to fit in as a young person who looked and acted just a little different than others in his small town in a song like “Deep End.” While he lays these wounds bare, he never asks for you pity, just your understanding, as he also finds his strength and optimism in the music as well. It’s the type of music that’s so honest and conversational in tone that it feels like Goldman has always been a part of your life, even when you’re listening to the EP for the first time.

Prevoid is an excellent introduction to Goldman, and an excellent fit alongside a lot of other Fake Four artists, including Ceschi. This is just really good, creative, honest, emotional hip hop.