Haleek Maul: Stygian Teen Brooding

By Alif Omar Mahfix • 20 Jun 2012 in Detonate

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If SpaceGhostPurpp’s bizarro dark beats and vintage ’90s Triple 6 Mafia-inspired lyrics made him the prince of the grimy underbelly of ghettos, then 16-year-old Haleek Maul is the prince of suburbia’s darkness. His free EP Oxyconteen, under London-based Merok Records, proves that Barbadian Haleek could very well be a member of Odd Future had the crew been less concerned with trolling.

While only 16, he’s stated that at one point he rapped about money, cars, and bitches before taking the darker route of bleak adolescent thoughts that permeate the hip hop milieu of rappers his age. It’s still fantastical rap tropes (bitches and hos or not), but Haleek pulls it off with the efficiency of a vet. There’s a stark realised quality to the stygian darkness that he goes into, and it helps that the atmospheric production is handled well by a team of producers ranging from Chicago’s reigning duo The-Drum, Supreme Cuts to King Britt.

If you need any more convincing, stream the EP below;