Topeka emcee Stik Figa began this year strong out of the gate, releasing a full-length album with Mello Music by the name of Central Standard Time. Now, as the year comes to a close, he comes back with an EP, The Local Rapper EP, dedicated to his oldest closest fans, and the city that shaped who he is.

As Stik Figa explains, he chose the name of this EP because of how he felt weird about the negative connotations that come with the term, like if you’re local you must not be good enough or have your shit together to be considered a national act. As an act coming from a city that most music fans skip right over, Stik Figa wanted to flip the phrase on its head, because he loves his home town, and his music comes straight out of his life in Topeka. Besides, you’ll never build a city up if everyone leaves at the slightest hint of success. To put the EP together, Figa made sure to keep his beat local, too, enlisting the help of Tony Gaines and Arkutec to produce the tracks. They fill the beats with some nice soul and gospel samples, giving it a really soulful sound that works well as Stik Figa hops on the mic and reflects on what his hometown means to him. He’s a charismatic emcee, and he certainly knows how to rock a crowd, but even more importantly, he can really get vulnerable on the mic. He’s not afraid to show his scars to his listeners, because that’s how he got here. “Growing Pains” isn’t a song you haven’t heard before, it’s a classic autobiographical rap, but the details and the love and the hurt are all Figa. “Nobody Listening” does a great job of breaking down the historical power structures in place that can leave a lot of people in his situation feeling like nobody cares about their struggles. “Olivia” brings in the Ash Street Missionary Baptist Church Choir to help Figa talk about how his religion helped shape who he is and helped him deal with hardships.

The Local Rapper EP is a really nice love letter from Stik Figa to Topeka, an overlooked emcee from an often-overlooked city. It’s the passion and honesty with which he discusses his hometown that makes this such a special EP.