2nd extended play of 2024 & the 12th overall from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Axel Holy. Originally known under the moniker Baileys Brown producing for several local underground hip hop artists, he would eventually make his full-length solo debut in the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with WonderWorld followed by his last 11 EPs. My favorite of which are the Micall Parknsun-produced Got It Down as well as the Badhabitz-produced Persian Grillz & the self-produced Extra Sauce, enlisting Dr. Zygote in explaining that Magic’s Real.

The title track hits us with a spooky boom bap instrumental talking about learning spells & trying to get a label deal whereas “Allen Iverson” has somewhat of a funkier beat assuring that polarizing personalities make for great writing. “Purpose Built” blends elements of boom bap & rap rock talking about not paying attention to shit since he’s on his own path prior to “Sudden Death” describing that he had to find his ground when he fell slippin’.

“Deezus Nice” continues the 2nd half of Magic’s Real incorporating some buzzing horns to boast about him causing levitation every time he picks up his pen to write rhymes while “Ropey” gets ready to unload a whole clip at this group of individuals that Axel deems to be inadequate compared to him. “The Mission” spends the final minutes of the EP talking about people looking lost because he & Zygote got what they’re missing.

Hidden Knowledge was a decent combination of abstract hip hop & dubstep even if Chess proved to only be slightly better, but Magic’s Real makes up for it with what could likely be Axel Holy’s finest collection of material to drop in 2024 & most definitely another standout EP in his discography. It’s not very often that you hear Dr. Zygote producing for UK hip hop artists for a song let alone an entire body of work these days & his signature style suits Axel’s lyricism.

Score: 4/5

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