XV - Please Hold ft. El Prez

It’s official: Everybody’s Nobody is so hotly-anticipated that XV‘s forthcoming mixtape is getting its own prelude mixtape.  Appropriately, the title track off Please Hold begins with the poignant repetition of the line, “All the things you desire will have to come late…” (sampled from The Dynamic Superiors’ Shoe Shoe Shine) before launching into full swing.  If you haven’t guessed, waiting is the theme here—in typically witty form, the Kansas rapper addresses the seemingly endless dues that must be paid before one can even see success on the horizon.  Inglewood, CA’s El Prez offers a few words of reassurance in his guest verse, detailing his journey from “boos to applause to curtain calls,” and Seven, the beatsmith who gave A.D.D. its distinctive electro-funk groove, here showcases an uncanny ability to squeeze mellow, old-school appeal out of spotlessly gleaming synths—Prez’s “elevator music” comparison is apt, but, considering the subject matter, what could be more fitting?  In any case, Friday’s midnight release of Please Hold should be just the thing to keep fans bobbing their head till Everybody’s Nobody finally drops.