By Charlie Maybee
DMV based rapper, FM Wu, is back at it with the single “AT THE TOP” fresh off his new mixtape What’s Next.
This song feels meditative, but in preparation for ferocious battle. I imagine this would be the perfect soundtrack for a boxer or MMA fighter before they get in the ring. It makes you feel alive, hungry, and ready to attack or be attacked at any moment. The sense of danger is energizing, and FM Wu uses his deep bass vocal tones to fantastic effect.
On top of that, the natural flow of the lyrics is seamless like a flurry of punches flying from his tongue. The verses dig in while the choruses through the gloves up to protect the face. The rhythm and cadence aren’t overwhelming here. They are cool and calculated, released only when the kill is close and time is right.
“AT THE TOP” is a song that has a lot to do with my journey as an artist and how far I’ve come compared to where I used to be” he writes, “To sum the song up I speak about what I have been through since I started making music up to now and I’m still at the top of my game. What that means exactly is that I haven’t lost any of the creativity or drive that I had when I started, I only took a break to focus more on what I didn’t have so that when I come back, I’ll be coming back bigger than ever”.
“AT THE TOP” and What’s Next are available on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Spinrilla, and TIDAL. An accompanying music video has also been released on YouTube. Find this and more great music on the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture playlist on Spotify and YouTube.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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