McKinley Dixon is a rapper who is deeply invested in the art of writing. His sturdy yet rigid flow might not dazzle, but he impresses with imaginative lyricism. “That’s the summer my mama raised a soldier/I look at pictures now, and all that’s changed is grinded down molars,” he raps on “All the Loved Ones (What Would We Do???).” These poetic turns of phrase fuel the Richmond, Virginia artist’s fifth album, Magic, Alive! Its premise centers on a group of young men who attempt to use magic to raise the spirit of their dead friend. But, like much of Dixon’s work, the resulting 35-minute suite turns into a meditation on how Black people sustain themselves amid life’s precarity

With production from Sam Koff of the No BS Brass Band (who has also worked with Lucy Dacus ) as well as Sam E.

See Full Page