$ilkmoney
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“I give my all to hip hop in every way and I try to embody everything that is hip-hop in its purest form, [but] at the end of the day, hip-hop don’t owe me nothing.”
$ilkmoney
“This album is really only for my giving niggas,” says Richmond, Va.’s $ilkMoney when asked about WHO WATERS THE WILTING GIVING TREE ONCE THE LEAVES DRY UP AND FRUITS NO LONGER BEAR?, his latest offering. “It’s for my niggas who give and never expect anything in return.”
On “THE $400 CHEESEBURGER FROM THE WINDOW SHOPPER VIDEO WAS JUST A BIG MAC,” $ilk struggles with feelings of inadequacy and the paradox of desperately striving to be the “better man” he already may be. “PROLLY WOULDNT BE HERE IF WE WOULDA BEEN KILLED THAT NIGGA KING BACH” is some scathing social commentary about the rise of digital minstrelsy and negative depictions of Black people in the media. He sets his sights on a vampiric wealthy elite class on “FUUUUCK, BABY. YOU’RE JUST SO SEXY WHEN YOU’RE TERRIFIED” rapping from their nefarious P.O.V.
Still, $ilk is most potent when he turns his gaze inward. On “FIRST I GIVE UP, THEN I GIVE IN, THEN I GIVE ALL” he returns to the Giving Tree motif, and asks earnestly: “If I fall down, when no one’s around, would it make a sound?” The song reveals itself not only as a metaphor for life but for the life of an artist who loves his culture and craft. “I give a lot to hip-hop, ” he says matter-of-factly. “I give my all to hip hop in every way and I try to embody everything that is hip-hop in its purest form, [but] at the end of the day, hip-hop don’t owe me nothing.” Ultimately, the Giving Tree is just grateful to have given.