Lyrical Mob Boss, Motive16, Slangs Raw & Uncut Hip-Hop on "Waste Management"
Guess WHo’s Back?
As soon as I hear a soulful sample, laced with epic vocal echoes, and turntable scratches, I’m tuned in. The intro’s lo-fi boom bap vibes, guided by a Tony Soprano skit, immediately set the tone for Motive16’s Waste Management. Inspired by “crime riches, weed smoke and fly bitches”, Motive takes you through the struggles of his come-up while discovering the “Meaning of Dreams”. He realizes he must take risks to transform his dreams into reality.
the album
This project is a product of 16 re-invigorating his love for hip-hop. Although he was part a group called Mind Kontrol in 2010, this is his first project. However, you can easily tell there’s experience behind his words and pen skills with lines like, “I can’t keep suffering/hustling my whole life like this can’t mean nothing”. What should have been throw-away tracks throughout the journey of getting back into music, becomes Waste Management, a creative commute back into the hip-hop scene.
On “Release Date”, Motive16 invites listeners to break out of the matrix while delivering flows that’ll sonically bust through any shackles. His newfound energy helps him move away from old habits and find new paths to the same dream, as the “Working Man Skit” suggests. It’s crazy to believe these were “practice” tracks when the next song, “Odds to be Rich”, flows so perfect, conceptually, after the skit. He proves his hunger to make it is well and alive despite the hardships endured in the past with personal life shit and creating music.
The skits, especially “Waste Interlude”, do a great job of tying the themes of this project together with sayings like, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. On “Wrong Channel”, a hustler’s past, not without its consequences, finds Motive “Trying to find the light as we travel around the sun’s shadow”. The “Mafia Calls Skit” from The Sopranos and “Rico Tapes Interlude” aid the secondary theme tied to 16’s past dealings and illustrates likely outcomes associated with that lifestyle.
Using a hustler’s mind-state, Motive kicks a lyrical exercise for the love of the game the only way “A Hustler Can”. This project feels like an effort to give his dreams another go; but with a fresh, new perspective that may very well take him further than he’s ever been. He acknowledges that having a lot of money is the “Universal Law” to respect and he’s headed straight to the bank. Can he keep his righteous, Zen-like, path to the top without the instant gratifications from the dark side?
Motive16 has a “Subconscious Theory”; but will it push him against the odds and come out successful on the other side? As the skit before the second verse claims, he must “first, be able to imagine it”. Immediately after, 16 spazzes over a suspenseful bassline on “Blue Comet”, declaring “I’ll make a career off of rapping”.
These are the “tales of the real, the few that are left”. In that sentiment, Motive closes out the album with “Made in America” which takes you through the duality of the U.S.’s crime roots with his own. Waste Management finishes on a hopeful note; wishing the countries future, along with his own, proves victorious in the end despite a controversial past.
I met up with Motive this past weekend in Wynwood, where I also ran into Ivan L and Baked Plissken, who just so happened to be in the area, and shot some photos to promote the album. We chopped it up and spoke about music and coming up in Kendall over some nice tree; with Baked, funny enough.
In typical Miami fashion, a storm was suddenly over us and we only managed to get a few shots in. We were lucky to find this dope spot right next to where we parked that had a fire waste management dumpster all tagged up by locals.
the interview
Tune in this Saturday, March 13, at 3:00pm for an exclusive D5LIVE interview on @dirty5ive Instagram live — We’ll be taking a deep dive into some lyrics and songs while finding out Motive16’s inspiration behind this album and his triumphant return to hip-hop.
Waste Management is available now on Bandcamp.
SUPPORT MOTIVE16 HERE.
WRITTEN BY JOAQUIN “JAKX” PINEDA @1991JAKX @DIRTY5IVE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOAQUIN “JAKX” PINEDA @DIRTYLEN5
FOLLOW @MOTIVESIXTEEN