Linqua Franqa - “Eight Weeks"

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Noname, Lauryn Hill, Leikeli47

It has been five years since Linqua Franqa’s jazzy, lyrically dense debut, a throwback to 90s-soul hip hop and full of verses of hopes and experiences. The Athens, Georgia artist tends to fill every measure with lyric between breaks, quickly spitting raps with percussive precision. Activism, battling personal demons, self-love - themes on Linqua Franqa’s record are given time and space where she lets you in on the conversation. Her beats are jazzy and straightforward, lyrics taking center frame over the course of her debut. By the time Linqua Franca fully entrances, the record is over at under fifteen minutes of tight, spoken-word influenced hip hop. That’s been it in terms of released material from Linqua Franqa since 2017, so imaginably a SXSW appearance this year means new music from the psychedelically sharp rapper. (Kevin McStravick)