When the going gets tough, the cliché says, the tough get going. How they keep pushing past that initial go, however, is another story. That’s the part we’re often not privy to. Sometimes, folks will have a great first push, then fall to the wayside. If you want to win completely and thoroughly, you’ve got to go deeper and further than you’ve gone before. Each time, you’re building a tunnel out of any sort of situation that may arise. That’s what I took from C.Shreve and Es-K’s “Aorta,” a jazzy boombap track about pushing on, digging deep and forcing (positive) change even in areas it was thought to be impossible.

A song from their collab album I Know How to Dig, “Aorta” tells listeners to keep on keeping on. Why, you ask? It’s simple. The more you’re able to push and, well, dig deep, the easier the world will become. Another cliché that comes to mind when I hear this song is “God helps those who help themselves.” I think that, through the lyrics and stories presented on “Aorta,” C.Shreve aimed to talk about this as well (without hitting too on the nose.” Shreve’s flows are always crisp and have a bite to them. The same is true of “Aorta.” Overall, SOTB Faithful, Shreve’s got another dope AF track for us to ride out the rest of the month/year to. If you want bars, C.Shreve’s got them–a lot of them, actually. If you want some punchlines and thought-provoking lyrics, this one’s for you. While the song makes me think heavily of some clichés, nothing about this one is run-of-the-mill or mundane.

Check it out below and support dope music in all its forms.