A new era of Hip-hop is starting to rise from the ashes of the blog era. With Hip-hop’s current stars selling out football stadiums and landing number one hits, a new crop of young lane-pavers is emerging from around the world. These new artists are a far cry from their predecessors; a new level of empathy and artistry is emerging from these artists, reinvigorating the genre. The real question is, who will survive this initial push into the public eye and go on to shape their creativity into a monument of Hip-hop prowess and its ever-growing list of legends? Inevitably, a few artists will be left behind, giving every release from these artists the potential to make or break their creative endeavors.
In walks McKinley Dixon, a Virginia-based visionary whose jazzy take on the modern genre elevates his hauntingly beautiful autobiographical work. With albums like 2023’s Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? and 2021’s For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her, Dixon built a foundation of fearless vulnerability that made his sleek flows feel accessible to all. Dixon is on track to become a shining star in Hip-hop, and on June 6, the world finds out if the young artist can keep his hot streak intact with the release of Magic, Alive!
The 11-song concept album is just as ambitious as Dixon’s past releases, although it takes a step into a more mystical realm. Rather than lean on his own story to shape the narrative, Dixon crafts a fantasy book world based on magic, mysterious rituals, and an unbreakable chain of friendship. With all eyes on Dixon, Magic, Alive! is a bold leap in a new direction, and the daring move pays off tremendously.
If Dixon’s past releases were more bop-era jazz, Magic, Alive! is the start of the artist’s spiritual jazz era. The concept of the LP, centered around three friends trying to bring their fourth friend back to life, is delivered through varied emotions, cartoonishly passionate vocals, and complex jazz production. Rather than viewing his past successes as a blueprint, Dixon sees them as a stepping stone towards fully realizing his visions, and those high-minded concepts are executed beautifully throughout Magic, Alive!.
Don’t let all this talk of artsy concepts and experimental jazz fool you, Dixon mixed in some pure, raw Hip-hop into his towering narrative. Despite being his least autobiographical LP yet, Magic, Alive! feels like our first proper introduction to Dixon’s wide-ranging artistry and acrobatic vocals. The tracklist is chaotic yet never feels disconnected. Dixon switches from the stadium-sized anthems like the Teller Bank$-assisted “F.F.O.L” to gospel-inspired pieces of uplifting proportions, like on “We’re Outside, Rejoice!” Dixon never loses sight of his visions, even as the jazzy swells explode and his vocals shift from sentimental whispers to passionate hecticness.
Hip-hop is entering a renaissance period, and Dixon is helping lead the charge into this new chapter of the genre. Magic, Alive! solidifies Dixon’s rising star and cements him as a forward-thinking artist with immense trust in himself and his collaborators, allowing even the most abstract concepts on his latest to feel earthly. The heartfelt poetry of “Listen Gentle,” the nostalgic raps on the posse cut “All The Loved Ones,” and the industrial, braggadocious nature of “A Crooked Stick” all point to one direction: the sonic universe Dixon is creating. Magic, Alive! is a statement piece, a plaque you pass on a walk that reads: “McKinley Dixon is here to stay, and nothing is going to stop his rise to Hip-hop royalty.”
