Torae

"Just in case you thought last time was a fluke/Here we go again nigga right back in the booth/right back in the groove"

—For the Record

Torae L. Carr (better known by his first name, Torae) is an acclaimed indie American rapper from Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. He first gained "notability" for his colab LP Double Barrel with Marco Polo. Torae has been prolific so far, with numerous mixtapes and Albums. He leans more toward the lyrical side of hip hop with well composed polysyllabic rhymes spread out over multiple stanzas.

His debut album, Daily Conversation, received generally positive reviews and was hailed as a breath of fresh air. The best songs had understated melody that highlighted the lyrical wordsmith in his element. Torae followed this up with his more recognized colab album, Double Barrel, which was more of the same. In 2011, he released For the Record, which certainly was a critical darling. It featured louder, catchier songs without any real degradation of quality, and showed greater breath of Sampling than previous albums.

Torae is easily one of the freshest new acts for the new tens, with well written words and tight hooks that hearken back to hip hop's golden age. Compositionally, he is decidedly old school, but that works largely in his favor, as it allows his lyrical deftness and dexterity to shine. Of course, we could go on forever about how great he is, or you could just check him out!

Offical Site Warning, music plays automatically so NSFW.
His Blog
"For the Record"

Discography:

- Daily Conversation (2008)
- Double Barrel (with Marco Polo) (2009)
- Heart Failure (2011)
- For the Record (2011)

Torae provides examples of the following tropes:

Gangsta Rap: Subdued type 1 throughout his work.
Alternative Hip Hop: Leans towards this in his more thoughtful songs.
Conscious Hip Hop: Very present, especially if you listen closely.
Boastful Raps exist in Torae's discography, but never at unnecessary levels.
Title Dropping happens in nearly every song, non appearing titles are a rarity in his work.
Album Title Drop: Happens on the Album For the Record on the single "For the Record" as well as the Interlude before that, "Only Way".
Spoken Word in Music: In spades on For the Record, most notably the intro and interludes, but also at the end of several songs as well. It's an album with a plot.