ELEVATOR SPEECH by Hydeen K. Beverly

In his debut, Hydeen K. Beverly presents a musical journey that tells a story of a Black man’s experience of resilience, healing, and triumph.

As a social worker and educator for over 15 years, Hydeen understands the challenges that Black men and boys face today. He bridges principles of mental health and social justice with elements of hip hop to reflect on his life and what he did to navigate his struggles.

In the intro track “The Calling,” Hydeen struggles with how he will react when he is faced with taking on the responsibility of uplifting his community and breaking negative family cycles. When things get heavy he doesn’t know if he’ll “freeze, fight, or run.” He realizes that it is his time to take the baton. In his case, he uses the pencil and his words to run his lap around the track.

“Gloomy Doom” is a reflection on the meaning of happiness and achievement. In this track, Hydeen has everything he needs in life, but doesn’t feel like it’s enough. He has love that he doesn’t acknowledge. He says, “while my days turn to nights, I got the love of my life next to me and I don’t even wanna speak.” He also feels like he is underachieving by saying “can’t be a wolf and still roam with the sheep.”

Hydeen continues through his bouts of loneliness, loss, and despair in tracks “That Day” and “All In.” In between those tracks, he finds a glimmer of hope in “Word.”

Throughout the first half of his speech, there are glimpses of hope that Hydeen experiences, but he can’t hold on to it. “Easy Rider” serves as the midway point in which Hydeen rises up and takes control of his life. In “Code Switch,” Hydeen “learned to make moves, don’t talk about them...just do.” He finds the confidence to take his life lessons and use them to “either build or destroy with the same tools.”

In “Get Loose,” Hydeen uses his voice to build. He calls out “get loose, get loose” to his people who are “mentally still getting lynched” because of their Black skin. He also address police and state violence, and the killing of unarmed Black peoples. Although Hydeen has risen up, “Simmer Down” has Hydeen settling into his roll as a leader and doing his work “for the youngins in the trenches who might struggle with seeing a way out their situation.” He tells them that “there’s more to life then what you can see out your front door.”

Hydeen brings it all together in the closing track “Every Rhyme I Write.” In this track, Hydeen brags that every rhyme he writes is his “best one...” while staying true to himself. He stays in his lane of using hip hop as tool for emotional and self development by giving listeners his best when he “talks about them real issues. When you listen close enough, you gon need a tissue.” At the end, Hydeen thanks you for for listening to his story.

This EP is Hydeen’s official studio introduction to the world as a rapper and hip hop artist. This project is Hydeen’s response to when someone says, “Tell me about yourself.”

Tracklist

1.	THE CALLING	2:52

2.	GLOOMY DOOM	1:32

3.	THAT DAY	1:40

4.	WORD	1:35

5.	ALL IN	1:54

6.	EASY RIDER (INTERLUDE)	1:16

7.	CODE SWITCH	1:35

8.	GET LOOSE	2:25

9.	SIMMER DOWN (WRITTENSTYLE)	0:56

10.	EVERY RHYME I WRITE	3:32

Credits

released September 7, 2020

Lyrics: Hydeen K. Beverly
Production: Luvjonez for Luvjonez Music © 2020

FOLLOW HYDEEN K. BEVERLY
www.insearchofhiphop.com
www.instagram.com/insearchofhiphop/

DK UPC: 195542413798
Preorder: August 12, 2020
Release date: September 7, 2020

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