Mike Kwaj, better known as Kwaj, goes back to his old roots in his fiery new freestyle titled “Drums in the Attic.” The sixth installment of his Shots from the Underground series. Produced by Stirman and videographed by Dominick Dempsey, the song also pays tribute to legendary producer & recording engineer Curshawn (Kaz Drumatik) Terrell, who mixed the song as well. Kaz, who is a huge staple in the Michigan Hip Hop scene, tragically passed away on New Year’s Eve. The self-taught musical genius has worked with the likes of T.I., Ace Hood, DJ Khalid, Young Jeezy, Blood Raw, Lyfe Jennings, and many more. While also providing services for independent artists throughout the Midwest. Giving back to the community has always been a priority for Kaz, and his life will be remembered – inspiring many generations to come.
The idea behind the “Shots from the Underground” series is to provide short-form content for fans to consume. An alternative to just releasing a single. Ahead of the curve as always, Kwaj understands the importance of video form content and spicing things up. Strictly released on YouTube, the series consists of six freestyles that were posted throughout the year. In the coming months, however, the rapper will plan to release these freestyles as a compilation album on streaming services. This is good news for fans, as his sharp lyricism and rapid bars are not one to miss: “Carry the whole bench though/rarely disclose info/shots in your pocket you rushin’/Kirilenko.” Only warming up, however, the MC is gearing up for the release of a new album fully produced by Hobbes Duende.
Although born on the east coast to Nigerian parents, Kwaj moved to Michigan at an early age where he was exposed to Hip Hop and Battle Rap Culture – f*** Free World; 313. Participating in both battling and freestyle competitions, these foundations would set the tone for Kwaj and expand his horizons to strive for a music career. Finding inspiration from artists such as Big L, Eminem, Illecism, and Little Brother, the Michigan MC used this as fuel to drive his creativity while also preserving his voice. His introspective bars over jazzy boom-bap production are enough to make any fan of Hip Hop go wild. As his biggest song “Clouds in the Sky” (prod. Hobbes Duende) has surpassed 400k streams on Spotify.
Kwaj’s work has also been recognized through his music group, Foreknowledge Collective, which includes producers, engineers, and more artists such as Hobbes Duende, KilamDaPro, EMERLD, Buuda, Jerre, and Calamity. The group has successfully pushed each other in providing high-quality music without the infiltration of external factors – pure authenticity. Although many, such as Nas, have claimed that Hip Hop is dead, the Foreknowledge Collective is certainly keeping that from ever happening.
