The buzz around Seattle rapper Mackned has been palpable this year. We've described him previously as the bridge between Kurt Cobain and Young Thug - "an artist bringing Old Seattle in line with New Seattle, facing a new set of problems" as outlined on his Hurt Cobain EPs. But over the last 12 months, Mackned has expanded like a waistline at Christmas, with Celebrity Etiquette proving he can ball out and as well as he can be sentimental, and collaborations with The Flavr Blue and Eric G giving his tranquilized flow and introspective lyrics a whole new feel as he steps up to bouncy G-Funk and big, lush production.Below we're premiering American Boy. The release will be Mackned's fourth this year not including collaborations, but the prolific nature of his output is no compensation for quality. Opening with a quote of Donald Trump claiming "our leaders are stupid, our politicians are stupid" – a statement that even more accurate now than it was when he said it in 2015 – American Boy goes off in the face of fear and uncertainty. "Fuck Trump and Hillary, go elect me" Mackned raps on opener "Election Season", laying out a mission statement that has been at the heart of his work since the very beginning: take things into your own hands.So there you have it. Get stuck in.
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