Kenlo Key..."Destined 4 Greatness"

Before I get into the nitty gritty about Kenlo Key’s recently released mixtape, “Destined for Greatness,” let me just get this fact out in the open from the jump; this dude has rhymes for days. It’s no exaggeration for me to say that you will be utterly convinced of Kenlo Key’s lyrical superiority within the first 40 seconds of popping in this mixtape. As avid followers of underground hip-hop can attest, the one thing that we’ve heard over and over about this Chicago emcee is that he knows his way around a freestyle, and certainly, the Key does nothing to disprove the hype on this mixtape. So yes, folks, Kenlo Key can spit. You heard it here first.

Of course, having a hot flow does not mean you can automatically declare yourself the Second Coming or whatever. Kenlo Key, while incredibly talented and certainly has much to look forward to in the near-future, leaves much to be desired on this mixtape from a musical standpoint and fails to push himself beyond the stale “I got money, guns, and bitches” theme that has held hip-hop under arrest since the late 90’s. Sure, that shit was fun to listen to back when we still had CD players in our JanSport bookbags and had nothing but optimism about driving tricked-out Beamers and Escalades in the (then) near-future. But now, it’s kinda hard to listen to someone talking about “counting all this cash” and “ballin’ harder than the Globetrotters show” when considering that in today’s crazy economy, not even banks have money. (And don’t even get me started on that one…) Between the tired themes restated throughout this mixtape and the generic-sounding beats that fail to make a lasting impression, it’s clear that the Key still has a lot of growing left to do as an artist before we see him reach his full potential.

Still, there are some bright spots on this mixtape that certainly make this free download worth your time. Easily the best parts of this album are the various freestyles placed throughout that show just how gifted Kenlo Key can be when he’s off script. Outside of the freestyles, there are two tracks that warrant your attention: “Gingerbread Man,” easily the most radio and ringtone-friendly track on this album and “Black Mask, Black Gloves,” the most gully, hungry, gutter-sounding track Kenlo Key has on this mixtape. (Too bad it’s only two minutes long, though) The other tracks, while not bad, certainly aren’t too memorable in their current forms and lack that “oh, shit” factor that an artist like Kenlo should be getting based on his lyrical skill level.

Overall, Kenlo Key’s “Destined for Greatness,” while certainly not an instant underground classic, serves as a great “foot-in-the-door” for one of Chicago’s finest raw talents. If given the opportunity to work with a couple of hardcore loopdiggers, there’s no doubt that Kenlo Key will push beyond the played-out boundaries he set on himself in this mixtape effort. And if that happens, shorties won’t be the only people calling Kenlo Key the “Gingerbread Man…”

Ray Torres, The Digital Manwhore


Download Kenlo Key's Mixtapere here