The cold and calculated MC, Has-Lo, has quietly smoldered on his acclaimed debut, In Case I Don’t Make It. Teetering between street and backpack, Has-Lo raps with an analytical mind and a streetwise tongue. Earlier today, Has-Lo debuted two songs at Passion of the Weiss and released his first vinyl 45.

“Stained Glass” finds Has spitting over powerful horns courtesy of Apollo Brown. Brown is a master of restraint, allowing the beat to come into it’s own with minimal meddling, and Has-Lo responds with a calculated and detailed set of verses, no bar is by accident. With a subtle confidence, the East Coast spitter intricately compares his style to the loading of a bullet in a burner’s chamber. On the B side, “Make A Bet”, Has-Lo is less confident and a bit more paranoid, as if he’s racing against the clock. Illmind’s driving beat culminates with a jarring synth arrangement at the chorus that emphasizes the feeling of pursuit: “put the hours on the clock, let your god count it down”.

Has-Lo spits with the vision of a veteran. His words are careful and deliberate; his flow is patient and steady. Proving that some still take the craft of writing dead serious, Has-Lo is a genuine lyricist.