Maryland’s Derek Forreal said “if you like Eminem and Mac Miller, you’ll like my song ‘Off the Muscle.'” I have a more apt comparison than Em, though. Now not to hate on Em, but I don’t think every white rapper sounds like Em. Nor do I think they’ve got to sound like Em. Otherwise we’d have an entire army of people making music to be murdered by.

Instead, Derek sounds like if John Wells and Mac were blended together. He’s got a dark, husky voice with a bit of tongue-in-cheek every so often. Even with that in mind, you can tell, like with Wells and Mac (and Em for that matter), that he loves hip-hop and breathes and bleeds this ish. Plus, like the two aforementioned rappers, he’s got bars and knows how to use them.

On “Off the Muscle,” I didn’t know what to expect at first because the beat has a bit of an acquired taste. It’s not exactly underground, but it’s not really mainstream, either. Then, Forreal started rapping and I had that “oh shit this hard” face I get when things are on point and had it on for the entirety of the song. Suffice it to say, I rocked with this one heavily. Check out “Off the Muscle” below and remember to support dope music in all its forms.