I gave In and of Itself a spin because I like Moka Only's name. It's really that simple. It's just a good name for an MC. Makes me think of sweet and smooth flows, with a sense of richness and balance... like a hot cup of mocha! And that's pretty much what it's like listening to the record- slick, stimulating, hot to the touch, but goes down easy. Moka's not just a wordsmith, but also his own beatmaker, filtering jazz clips through a system of hydrating, super-steamed funk and subjecting them to a signature enhancement of finely tuned house rhythms that help condense the motion of the tracks and improve their consistency. Jazz-rap (to borrow an unholy AllMusic genre tag) is a common production style, even in 2023. When an artist wants to come across as suave and together, it's one of the styles they tend to fall back on, and it can sometimes feel like a bit of a crutch as a result. It has an incredibly well-established cultural cache and proven track record for hits... and beat in the style are easy to come by. If you want to buy a Dilla-style beat, you can pretty much cold DM anyone with a SoundCloud. But Moka really is doing something different. His beats feel infused with his personality, with a genuine appreciation for their sources, an understanding of their strengths, and a spiritual-like connection to their real and mythical origins. Frankly, I couldn't imagine anyone else's flow gliding on these creamy, surging curves and sticky, shuffle bumps. In and of Itself is a machine specifically calibrated to serve a special kind of brew, one that Moka Only is distinctly and uniquely qualified to supply.
