Displaying his growth, West Philly’s Leaf Ward surprises us with Concrete Leaf.
Here we find a more focused Leaf. Passionately intertwining his words with theatrical melodies. The EP is only six songs in length, but the brevity does not take a thing from its substance. Ward has kept himself busy since releasing his last mixtape, SITT2. The 21-year-old has put in a lot of footwork for an artist this young. Gaining over 3 million streams on Soundcloud and hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. In a span of two years Leaf has released four mixtapes and countless singles. Leaf Ward provides a direct view into the minds of those plagued by dangerous environments.
Ward ignites the flame of nostalgia, being influenced by State Property and other lyrical wordsmiths. He separates himself by making music to not only listen to, but to feel. Some people say these men who are born to the streets have no heart, but on the contrary Leaf Ward leaves his soul in the booth with this one. “this reality rap, this hood sh*t” Ward explains on Truthfully. He tells tales of young men and women who succumb to the seduction of the streets. He tells tales of knowing there’s more beyond your city limits and neighborhood.
Stream Concrete Leaf on Apple Music and Tidal and Listen above. Make sure to follow Leaf Ward because he’s just warming up.
PPPPssssttt: check out Leaf’s first interview EVER, that I had the honor of participating in.
