Y!KES

"Yikes" waltzed onto my roof deck a bit over a year ago and very few days without his physical presence have passed since. His love affair with any new sound resonates within his raw talent as a lyricist/composer. Nothing but contempt for the expected or "norms" within all music is where the spark ignites for Y!kes The Original. The basics and roots in his music are respected but barely visible. In other words, it takes much more than a clever ear to pick out anything within his sound that sounds influenced by any pre-existing format. Consistently searching for a sound untouched or more so untainted is the backbone of one of the more integral musicians I've come across in Hip-Hop culture. Okay, now smack me in the mouth twice next time you see me for I just limited Y!kes to strictly Hip-Hop. Not the case at all, my patient reader. For the most part, Y!kes is losing his patience for Hip-Hop as it remains on its stagnant plateau. The fuel to his fire resides dominantly on that very fear of a once passionate love for the music collapsing around him. In listening to his art, the notice of Y!kes taking that matter into his own hands smashes your skull with a harsh reality of how bastardized much of that culture has become. Progress is inevitable in his world. Falling for the pop tricks of the trade will steer you nowhere near him but I'm pretty sure he's easy to find in the valley between uncharted territory and a righteous disdain for the same old story.--Cameron Trigger -Music Journalist-------------