So where is the next place that will be recognized as a hip-hop mecca? Of all the places one would guess, the last location to breed any amount of talent would probably be Delaware (check the look on many people’s faces who say “Is that even a state?”) Hezekiah is from Delaware and draws much of his inspiration from the state that borders his tiny home. An emcee who is talented in the realm of singing and rapping looks to make an impact with his debut album Hurry Up & Wait.

    Much of Hezekiah’s influences are prevalent throughout the album. From the simplistic crooning on “Children Don’t Play” that resembles a Mos Def moment to the 9th Wonder-ish vibes of “Put Your Toys Away”, Hezekiah draws his energy from very positive forces. Throughout the album Hezekiah addresses various topics. He laments his issues with the crazy portion of the opposite sex on “Psycho Chick”, which sounds very Slum Village like, and will turn around it flip into a battle rhyme as heard on “It Couldn’t Be Done”.

    But at times the album can’t match its higher points (“Put Your Toys Away” and “Children Don’t Play”) but instead will throw the listener a few curveballs like the pretty tasteless “Photograph”. At first the superb vibes call upon a sultry ladies moment but it gets soured by lines like “Put em on the glass/Let me take a photograph” and “fat chick like to have sex for food/she half nude exposing her fallopian tubes.” Moments like this are pretty hard to digest. Much of the rest of the album is filled with mediocre instances where you can feel the potential growing but it never truly reaches its full height.  

    Needless to say, Hezekiah is a truly talented artist who gets his feet wet with Hurry Up & Wait. But songs that showcase how good this album could have been (like the Bahamadia assisted “Gypsy Slang”) get lost in the mediocre shuffle. But aside from these missteps, Hezekiah does deliver an album that deserves to be heard on potential alone.