Atlanta's
Money Man was quick to respond to the global COVID-19 crisis, releasing a mixtape entitled
Epidemic in late February of 2020, when the United States was still in the earliest stages of feeling the effects of the pandemic. Just weeks later,
State of Emergency arrived, with ghoulish cover art depicting bloody hands grasping desperately for bottles of vaccine kept under glass. Much like
Epidemic however,
State of Emergency is hardly a soul-searching response to the fear and upheaval of a world-altering plague. Lyrically,
Money Man hovers around the topics he often returns to: sex, money, designer clothes, expensive cars, and being better than the haters. His low-impact, multisyllabic flow takes on similar forms throughout the project's 14 songs, but in tandem with fluid, bouncy instrumentals like the old-school funk-flavored "Fall Today,"
Money Man's style takes on a meditative quality. His hooks are understated and his rhymes are relaxed, but throughout
State of Emergency, tracks are thoughtfully constructed and engaging without being especially excitable. It's another strong release from this prolific artist, all done without the help of any other featured rappers. No one song jumps out as the strongest offering of the bunch, but rather the entire tape flows into a consistent, contemplative mood where each track is an integral part of the whole. ~ Fred Thomas