Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire

With mellow throwback instrumentals and a smooth flow that puts him in easy company with East coast greats like <a href="spotify:artist:4VmEWwd8y9MCLwexFMdpwt">Method Man</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7xTKLpo7UCzXSnlH7fOIoM">Redman</a>, Brooklyn emcee Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire evokes the golden days of mid-'90s hip-hop. Based out of New York, eXquire developed a style that mixed grime and irreverence in equal parts on a series of mixtapes like 2011's Lost in Translation.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire was born Hugh Anthony Allison in 1986 in Brooklyn. His rap debut came with 2008 mixtape The Big Fat Kill, and he followed in 2011 with Lost in Translation. This second mixtape featured beats by <a href="spotify:artist:57UnSUpae3SbRekxNa5Kgl">El-P</a>, as well as guests Despot, <a href="spotify:artist:7x3mbyjfOZ9y599MHmyNOu">Heems</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6Xnvmw6KieZ1nVs0YdWemQ">Kool A.D.</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7aA592KWirLsnfb5ulGWvU">Danny Brown</a> on a remix to breakthrough single "Huzzah."

In 2012, eXquire signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Universal+Republic%22">Universal Republic</a> for the release of his Power & Passion EP, which featured production by Dot da Genius, <a href="spotify:artist:57UnSUpae3SbRekxNa5Kgl">El-P</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6yR6M6V6I7GhhYf6A7Wif9">SpaceGhostPurrp</a>, as well as guest <a href="spotify:artist:13y7CgLHjMVRMDqxdx0Xdo">Gucci Mane</a> on "Telephuck." New mixtape Kismet (and the re-release Kismet: Blue Edition) landed in 2013, before eXquire parted with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Universal%22">Universal</a>. Picking up the pieces as an unsigned artist, eXquire continued to issue mixtapes, like his multi-part holiday series Merry eXmas & Suck My Dick, as well as a collection of unreleased tracks, Live from the Danger Room. His sophomore EP, Live Forever, arrived in 2015, with Brainiac following in 2017 on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Chocolate+Rabbit%22">Chocolate Rabbit</a> label. After years of grinding out mixtapes and making a name for himself in underground circles, eXquire finally offered up his self-titled debut studio album in July of 2019. The independently album was relatively light on features, with only a few guests like KAST and Iceberg Black adding verses to the confident and triumphant-feeling album. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Gregory Heaney, Rovi