'The Greatest Pretender' by Archie Green

We've been bigging-up Cleveland-born rapper/producer Archie Green for the past few months, impatiently waiting for the drop of his first proper release, The Greatest Pretender. You can finally give the entire album a listen below and bask in all of its splendor. It delivers exactly what we expected—an introspective look into the mind of a black dude who's not a gangster or a pimp or a drug dealer. Instead, the struggle presented in Archie's music is that of trying to break through the glass ceiling and realize his dreams. The whole thing feels like a mixture between the lyrical content and beats of Kanye West's College Dropout and the rapping gymnastics of Jay Z's Reasonable Doubt. Through Archie's combination of disparate styles and influences, it ultimately arrives at a sound that is different and sincerely dope. Check it out for yourself.

Follow Archie Green on Twitter and check out the video for his lead single, "40 Acres."