New Hip-Hop Music: Deejay Zelaya

I don’t think it’s a big secret that I don’t have a lot of confidence in today’s hip-hop. The mainstream is full of pretenders with no flow, weak beats, and ghost-written lyrics. The underground, though, helps me keep the faith. Real hip-hop is alive and well in the underground. Today we have a serious rapper with serious beats and a serious flow and the mainstream will do well to take notes. His name is Deejay Zelaya.

Now I know he hates it, but I can’t help but compare him to Immortal Technique. Not saying he ripped him off or this thing or the other, but their flows are similar. If anything it’s a compliment, because Immortal Technique’s flow is ill. But that’s where the similarities stop with Deejay Zelaya and Technique. Unlike Technique, Deejay Zelaya composes all his own beats and the lyrical content of his raps isn’t nearly as political, but it is every bit as invested in street culture and life. At the end of the day, though, I have to say the emcee that Deejay Zelaya most resembles is Nas. If you listen long enough, you can hear his influence is almost anything Deejay Zelaya does, and honestly, I love it.

Deejay Zelaya just dropped his debut EP, “Soul Gems EP”. Go check it out if you appreciate good flow and tight beats, or if you’ve lost all faith in hip-hop. It’s guys like Deejay Zelaya that are keeping hip-hop alive and they need our support, so check out “We Ain’t Goin’ Out” off “Soul Gems EP”.

PS: I don’t normally include a second track, but Deejay Zelaya just released a new track a week ago called “For the Love”, which I think is just too good to leave off this review. Have a listen!