Genre(s): Jazz Rap
Release Date: June 6, 2025
My Rating: 4.5/5

Pretty much the only Rap I enjoy is Jazz Rap and I don't mean that jazz/funk influenced slop, but honest to god live jazz music that just so happens to have some person rapping over it. Likely as a result of their long shared history, rap is functionally a jazz solo for voice. This kind of Jazz Rap is rare enough that I pretty much have a blanket dislike of Rap as a whole, but occasionally an album or two shines through.

McKinley Dixon, who I have been following closely every since his 2023 release of "Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?", just released his most recent album, "Magic, Alive!". Although the focus is rightly on McKinley Dixon's lyrics and flow, he often treats his voice as just another instrument, giving space for the lush and warm jazz instrumentation, featuring sax, flute, and various horns. When McKinley Dixon is not rapping, jazz solos seamlessly take over, allowing many songs to glide from start to finish. Sometimes the rap and solos intersect, adding an additional improvised feel to McKinley Dixon's flow.

Not only is the album jazzy, but it also has it's orchestral sections. In combination with a few special tracks, the album changes enough over the runtime to keep everything fresh. Most unusually for both the genre and the topic, "Magic, Alive!" is both warm and optimistic. The album deals with the death of a friend and the so called "Magic" refers to the somewhat magic realism story of their resurrection. As a slight spoiler, the title track (which is at the end of the album), ends with:

Going through this now, shit, it really got me believing
To live forever is to tell the stories of who light up ya eyes
We ran, we danced, survived, we fly
That's magic alive!

From start to finish, the 35 minute runtime never overstays it's welcome, with every song fully exploring it's own theme and gracefully fading out for the next one. Barring one or two weirder tracks, "Magic, Alive!" is a pretty definitive 10/10 for me, and a must listen for anyone who likes Rap, Jazz, or must music in general.

YT Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n2zV5vTTpvPRwS-JW1WRGMI8LnbSOfPTU

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0RXsRwX4iMCKkSFPoSs8Go

Review Date: July 17, 2025
Last Updated: N/A