Because I started out writing with an LA-focused rap blog, it takes me a little longer than it should to give up-and-coming LA acts a chance due to the overwhelming and sometimes undeserved hyperbole that my, uh, colleagues lay on them day in and day out. I'll likely keep this policy in place for the foreseeable future, but the late-2017 emergence of 03 Greedo and the newly-free Drakeo the Ruler has made me think twice. In form, there's nothing about Cold Devil that's particularly revolutionary - except, of course, Drakeo himself. Drakeo raps in a continuous stream, making adjustments for the beat but more often bending it to suit him. Hooks, often very catchy, are moreso stumbled into than announced. He's got a habit of speaking from the moment a track starts, a little more like rapping when there are drums and a little more like talking shit when they're fading out, but ultimately equally effective - for the duration of the tape, Drakeo is living in your ear. He's enormously personable, but not in a way that makes me want to know more about him; rather, he's at once a captivating personality and entirely unknowable (case in point: there's evidence that he takes very nice pictures but his videos share a common theme - hood up, eves averted).

Highlights: Big Banc Uchies, Neiman & Marcus Dont Know You, Out The Slums (ft. 03 Greedo)