Been listening to the new album Maintain by local MC and DIY ombudsman Mykele Deville and I am convinced he is the poet this city needs right now. The actor turned community organizer turned mic maestro is really in a league of his own and it’s cool to see him come into his own on his fourth LP. Deville doesn’t have a sound that fits into any current trends in hip-hop. It lacks the brooding, self-flagellating subject matter of R’nB artists like Weeknd and Drake, and is outside of the prevailing texture and beat fixations of the current trap and drill movements. He doesn’t even fit into the conception of the “Chicago sound,” which may be due to his sideways entrance into the cities music scene through theater. While his beats are inspired by the jazz-rap of De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest (especially on the smooth and smoky sidewalk sashay and gatekeeper rebuke “Free Soul”) he lacks the overly-chill vibe conveyed by either of those groups vocal delivery. The content and cadence of his flow are closer to that of Brother Ali if that grandmaster of conscious rhymes emphasized the percussive qualities of his voice while retaining its buttery, salve-like qualities. Deville’s verbose bars pack a lot of thought into condensed phrases without sacrificing the momentum of the verses, a skill that is masterfully displayed on the leading singles off the album, the ode to self-love “Type Love” and the boom-bap pep-talk “You’re Enough.” It's an album that addresses the anxieties of our time while showing a way forward. It's the perfect album to help you glide over hump day, as well as this dismal period in American history.
