McKinley Dixon has been impressive since his debut, Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?, in 2018. The improvements have been steady ever since and his latest body of work, Magic, Alive!, is maybe his greatest triumph. This time through, the Virginia rapper and jazz-influenced musician is telling a passionate and cinematic tale about a group of friends.
It revolves around three to be exact and they are dealing with the loss of one of their buddies. However, they want to try and bring him back from the dead, which is alluded to on the album's cover. But if that's not an option, Dixon says they would take just being able to talk with him again.
Moreover, the Chicago-based multi-hyphenate focuses on what constitutes as "magic" at the end of the day. Overall, it can be whatever you really want it to be. That's what makes this story and its themes so imaginative and colorful.
Speaking of those adjectives, those are both words that one could use to describe Magic, Alive! musically, too. Dixon and his team of producers put together explosive, powerful, and whimsical instrumentals to give this story more life.
Moreover, McKinley's commanding presence is impossible to dodge as he raps with great gusto and emotion. You can tell that this story inspired him, and it makes it easy to label this as an AOTY contender.
McKinley Dixon Magic, Alive!
Magic, Alive! Tracklist:
- Watch My Hands
- Sugar Water (feat. Quelle Chris and Anjimile)
- Crooked Stick (feat. Ghais Guevara and Alfred.)
- Recitatif (feat. Teller Bank$)
- Run, Run, Run Pt. II
- We're Outside, Rejoice!
- All the Loved Ones (What Would We Do???) (feat. ICECOLDBISHOP and Pink Siifu)
- F.F.O.L. (feat. Teller Bank$)
- Listen Gentle
- Magic, Alive!
- Could've Been Different (feat. Blu & Shamir)
