Mixtape review – XV’s Zero Heroes
XV is an artist whom I've had my eye on for some time. I can't say that I'm familiar with all sixteen of his mixtapes that have dropped since 2006, but from what I have heard, I like him because his rhymes are fresh and he raps with heavy pop culture references. For whatever reason, when people rap about pop culture elements, it amuses me. I live in the now, I suppose. Anyhow, sometimes, those pop culture references can be his kryptonite, as defined by Wikipedia as "synonymous with an Achilles' heel—the one weakness of an otherwise invulnerable hero" (I had to refer to Wikipedia to make sure that allusion worked, and it did!). Basically, sometimes I feel like htere are too many pop culture references in his rhymes, which makes me wonder how relevant, or even understandable, his music will be ten years from now. Admittedly, it's difficult for me to critique him on that point because it is part of what draws me to him in the first place. That, and his nerdiness is very endearing. Compared to the XV projects that I have listened to, the Zero Heroes tape feels much more timeless, more along the lines of Return of 4Eva, where I can imagine it is still largely relevant years from now. He achieves this feeling of sentiment both with production, but more importantly, through the theme that ties the tape together. "Not everybody lives, but everybody dies," so said on Seven-produced "When We're Done," is the underlying theme of the tape. Everyone, including heroes, dies. That's a little anticlimactic, now that I actually sit here and think about it, but at least it's provocative and makes me want ...
