McKinley Dixon - “Sun Back”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Earl Sweatshirt, Nx Worries, J.I.D.

McKinley Dixon’s 2020 EP The House That Got Knocked Down is a hip hop record, but his commitment to jazz and psychedelic jams give his music a deeper sound than a traditional beats/rap album. Employing a low, conversational tone that matches the sludgy R&B sound plodding his music forward, an approach both introspective and abstractly dreamy. While deeply experimental, there are still threads of old school hip hop that inform McKinley Dixon’s sound, a grounding influence as the Richmond, Virginia-based artist explores freely in complex, melodic ways. McKinley Dixon’s pair of 2018 records Who Taught You to Hate Yourself? and The Importance of Self Belief come more from an indie rap angle with twists of the jazzy directions on The House That Got Knocked Down, so it’s refreshing to see an artist dive so deep into his eclectic sonic pool once coming from a relatively straightforward base. (Kevin McStravick)