Medhane repeats himself, making his unhurried way through his verses and remaining intent on humble pursuits—fiscal and spiritual comfort, avoiding distractions and vices, snakes or serpents, he might say. If he’s focused on his delivery, maybe then you’ll really hear and understand him. And so he repeats; that’s how Medhane works. The young Brooklyn rapper is a friend and collaborator of Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE, and, like his peers, he makes his voice heard by lowering it.
On his first solo full-length, he sounds stern but forgiving, his buttery flow gliding atop dampened soul samples. Medhane’s work is largely about determination, an attribute you can hear reflected in the amelodic nature of his rapping, where each line moves with a similar tempo, not too fast, not too slow. There’s also a softness to Medhane’s writing that complements the bluntness of his pacing. He writes in unsentimental broad strokes, making his lyrics feel like synecdoches for all living. “I know what I need,” he says on “On Me,” keeping the thought internal.
Interiority is everything to Medhane. His deepest insights arrive with the simplest combination of words. “Taking small steps/Trippin’, trippin’, I ain’t fall yet,” he says on “Smallsteps,” calmly, as if the utterance is itself part of his undetermined journey to somewhere, a place he can’t yet envision but will continue striving toward. He offers variations on progress, steady pacing, hope, and gratitude. “Changes and growth all I know,” goes another line, showing Medhane ready to embrace any turmoil or spoils ahead.
Medhane’s tone has changed just a bit since last year’s Ba Suba, Ak Jamm EP. On the brief, 13-minute release, Medhane spoke more about hard work and gain, like he couldn’t look up from the grind. The beats were more chaotic. The new project has a murmuring slickness, a mantric quality. “Remembering the times I couldn’t describe what’s inside,” he raps on “Affirmation #1.” Own Pace is Medhane’s non-stop constant trip to the center of his inner self, filled with the imperceptible detours and contours of the mind.
