Over a soulful beat, Chicago-born Jefe Bates raps his ass off over a self-produced beat. As an artist who’s produced a lot of my own beats, I’m here for this sort of ingenuity. This one is slated to be the first single off Bates’ ‘when I’m gone, play this’ album and, if the rest of the album is like this, this one’s going to be fire. It’s a beautiful song, one that’s soul sample helps hammer the point home that Bates is a lyrically-impressive rapper who’s going to be on his shit regardless of what a hater or a naysayer may say. I love the boisterousness of “I AM,” because it’s a dope track sonically and lyrically. Check it out below and remember to support dope music in all its forms.