Stringz EMB is a very versatile player, as he’s exhibited plenty well in his last few singles. His latest release, “Hijacked,” sees him exploring his melodic abilities a bit more, and though I think he’s still got sustainable chops as a rapper, this slightly heavier pop sound he’s rocking in “Hijacked” is arguably even more immersive than his previous content has been. Using a hook as his foundation, Stringz EMB creates a sonic web for us to get stuck in – and while there’s a lot of credible material of this kind hitting record store shelves at the moment, this single is a particularly exceptional listen.
Self-control is hard to come by in the hip-hop underground of 2022, but you would never know as much just from listening to “Hijacked.” Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, who seem to celebrate excess just a bit more than necessary some of the time, Stringz EMB puts efficiency at the top of his priorities when crafting a track, and that’s obvious just in breaking down the intricacies that comprise this latest release. He’s not replacing simple harmonies with synthesized indulgence; there are more than a couple of rappers already doing that for him.
Watch the video for “Hijacked” below
This beat enhances the vibe of the lyrics beautifully, and I don’t know that “Hijacked” would sound like the same song were it set to a different tempo. The personality of the music is too engrained with the detailed componentry of the track to be separated, and this in itself says a lot about the kind of songwriter Stringz EMB is becoming. He’s using everything here to make his expressiveness stronger, which is a lot harder to do than any pop producer will tell you it is. In terms of both technique and creative premise, he’s onto something very special in this performance.
I’ll be very interested to hear what Stringz EMB is going to offer us in his next release, but just going off of what we’ve heard in his last couple of studio cuts, I think he’s only going to evolve more. He’s using experience as a means of producing a really complete sound in this performance, not to mention utilizing the mix as an extension of any instrument at his fingertips, which is something that a lot of players in his scene just don’t have the talent to do. Stringz EMB owns it in “Hijacked,” and I doubt this is even representative of his peak skills.