On “LOVE,” Chicago duo Burner Phone recruit several other indie artists from the region and, essentially, allow each artist free reign to discuss their understanding of the concept of love. That is, love when it comes to creating and being the best they can be at their craft. Featuring Young Wabo, Masethemessiah and Aviad, “LOVE” is, well, a love letter to hip-hop. An almost-four-minute song over a beautiful soul sample, “LOVE” is for a specific type of hip-hop fan. In other words, it’s for those who love lyrical rap with substance (and not just bars for the sake of bars). Not a single bar is wasted on this track, as each line hammers home an opinion or thought about love, music and life.

My favorite element of the track is, admittedly, the sample. Everyone who knows me well knows I’m a sucker for soul samples, especially if they’re on this sort of level. That’s not to say the bars are slouches, though. Each artist’s control of their segment is impressive and important to understanding who they are. However, that beat! When it first hit, I had the “DAMN” face on. When the bars started flowing out over the beat, my face still was scrunched up (in a good way), like “yes, this is that ‘real hip-hop’ people always go on and on about.” Check out “LOVE” below and support dope music in all its forms.