Fly Anakin
Skinemaxxx
LEX
It’s been nearly a decade since Fly Anakin first emerged with his Mutant Academy brethren, a fully formed behemoth of verbose emcees rapping over dusty soul loops from the crew’s in-house producers. Anakin was the group’s face, its leader, founder, and spiritual center. He’s been a part of the indie-rap hierarchy ever since, so it’s easy to gloss over just how talented he’s become as a producer and rapper since he first appeared on the scene. But on his two-sided Skinemaxxx EP project, he turns in his most cohesive work to date: a heady concept album fueled by nostalgia which manages to sound at once indebted to its influences and like nothing else in rap.
On Skinemaxxx (Side B), the Richmond-bred spitter moves away from his childhood, which was some of the focus of Side A, and into the sultry lust of young romance. Like Side A, though, the production was handled by the talented beatmaker foisey., who populates this work with lush, R&B-inspired beats. Occasionally, the instrumentals veer toward late-’90s rap, like on the standout cut “Blain Pitch,” a lowrider anthem full of menacing bass notes that appear around every corner and a delivery from Anakin that sounds equal parts desperate and menacing—if he doesn’t get this story off his chest, it seems, it might eat him alive. Anakin is fully in charge of his voice on the project, but some of Side B’s highlights come when the rapper invites peers to supplement it. ANKHLEJOHN comes through with a stellar verse on “Blockstory,” while “Demae” offers support on the downtempo and jazzy “Things Change.”
With its more romantic and sexually charged nature, it’d be easy for Anakin to dive into tropes of endless nights and a barrage of partners at his doorstep. But the rapper brings nuance and humanity to these stories, making Skinemaxxx as much of a love story as it is a collection of raunchy and debaucherous tales. Named after the adult film star, “Lacey Duvalle” sees Anakin torturing himself for interrupting a romantic interlude; he’s got to hop on a jet, so the fun will have to continue at a later date. This is perhaps the best illustration of Skinemaxxx (Side B)’s depth.
There’s a world in which Anakin could have crudely sketched his tales of lust and quick romps—and between his skill on the mic and foisey.’s impressive production, it probably would’ve sounded great. But here, Fly Anakin doesn’t mistake theme with content; he does the work, animating the overarching tenets that have informed the Skinemaxxx era with humorous asides, touching odes, and unending personality.
