Kembe X • Talk Back

Kembe X has been a favorite among our staff going all the way back to the Self Rule days and those early collaborations with Alex Wiley that had the city buzzing about the Village kids and their over-the-top, smoker raps. Now, Kembe is back with a brand new album that had us up all night, still as excited to hear his new material as if it was 2011 all over again. His career has steadily developed since and his association with Top Dawg Ent. boosted his profile significantly in the past couple of months, so it was only right for Talk Back to arrive today through various streaming services.

Every record Kembe has put out to date features tremendous personal and musical growth and this is once again the case in his newest 14-track project. Of course, Wiley also makes an appearance alongside Zacari Pacaldo and Romeo Testa who assist Kembe over production by the likes of The Antydote, Hippie Sabotage and Bentley Hazelwood. Talk Back might not have ended up being the much rumored second secret project out of TDE, but the quality here is exactly what one would expect from the camp and it’s even more impressive that Kembe was able to do it mostly on his own. Listen below.