Charles Vann and his music are not aesthetically pretty. Charles (aka SelfSays) is an awkward 20something kid. He's from a Detroit suburb, but he's not affiliated with Black Milk or Slum Village, and his music is more immediately akin to Aesop Rock; he doesn't rap about his Escalade, trips to the strip club, or the notorious 7 mile. Instead, his music combines the usual rapper braggadocio with small, socially clumsy moments he experiences daily.
His
Something Out Of Nothing EP did not receive huge praise upon arrival, but a year or so after its release, it's aged surprisingly well. Recorded over two years ago, the EP's production list looks like a who's who of electro beats before they got "big" (that being an extremely relative term, since the sub-genre itself is niche). Folks like Knxwledge, Devonwho, Samiyam, Buillon, and veteran Dakim craft the moody, off-kilter soundscape for Charles to lay his hopes and worries over.
This kind of rap is not currently in the spotlight, but it is refreshing, honest and original.