Amidst an industry where many rappers claim they are either from the hood or already ballin’ when they are usually neither, it’srefreshing to hear from an artist like Atlanta-based, Cincinnati-raised rapper Jermiside who is comfortable representing how he wasreally raised, and where he’s at in life. Jermiside has teamed up with Vancouver-based, Irish-bred producer Danny Diggs to create theirupcoming album release Middle Classic. The ‘middle class’ theme does not tie into every single track, but on the hook of title track 9Jermiside explains his perspective, “I ain’t from the hood, I grew up good, my situation turned out just like we knew luck would”.

Jermiside has been carving out a niche for himself since 2003. He’s released several albums and has worked with artists such as Tanya Morgan, Cunninlynguists, Brickbeats and more (listed below). Jermiside and Danny Diggs have been working together on and off since 07' when they released their first track together on Danny’s Introducing album featuring Shad K. But the release of their album Middle Classic and the Quiet as Kept EP they are releasing for free download right before that mark their first official releases together. The cohesion between Danny Diggs’ flawless production and Jermiside’s immaculate storytelling style come through in the face of the long distance nature of their collaborations.

Hip-hop heads that enjoy introspective themes, meaningful lyrics and chilled out, soulful beats will keep this album in rotation. Standout tracks include “Didn’t I Tell You” (feat Von Pea), an upbeat soulful jam where Jermiside and Von Pea taunt doubters they’ve encountered. “Afraid” features vocals by Maverick Sabre on the hook and illustrates the relatable honesty that Jermiside is known for. Johnny Roulette and Maverick join Jermiside on “Still With Me” where Johnny and Jerm describe their love for good women, Cincinnati as a hometown, and a relative lost too young alongside a deep, grooving, feel-good beat. Bonus tracks Kev Brown’s remix of “We Here”, DJ Kno of Cunninlynguists’ remix of “Still With Me” and Brickbeats’ remix of “Didn’t I Tell You” provide a solid addition to this sturdy project. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.