Nerve-wracked and anxious, I stood on my landing jealous of a location of all things – primarily one where I wasn’t. But as it goes, my smoke break was exactly that, a break. And as soon as I felt the heat of the flame reach the filter I walked my tobacco-supplemented self back inside to write.

The trick to writing isn’t in the diction or the syntax. Sure, those things help and keep you from being laughed at by other wordsmiths, but what writing really is about is connection. If you can draw a parallel between two things that most people can’t or wouldn’t have seen, you’re golden. An original thought is power.

One of the most exciting things about covering rap is the hunt of finding new talent and writing about – it may be the most fulfilling aspect of this gig. That is when the mixtape is good. When it’s bad it’s just another way to waste an hour of your life (like watching back-to-back episodes of The Hills). Baltimore-based emcee Matthew Sutton, known as 810 is the anti-Spencer Pratt. The 19-year-old brings a good ear for a sample and a well paced flow to the table. And with his latest release, Supply and Demand, 810 shows that the demand for quality rap is still around – and he’s holding.

The tape starts with Where U Been, a funked out sampled track that 810 uses to establish that he’s been around rap doing his thing for a while but slept on. His noticeable lack of bravado and, in truth, humble attitude towards his own situation allow for the listener to really connect to the lyrics and vibe with his mission of becoming a well known emcee. Stunting is not his habit.

The tracks that stand out on the tape, however, are Here We Go Again, Bill Gates and Racism Reloaded for three reasons: production, wordplay and concept. The overall quality of the music on the tape is above par. Though sample-based, the production is balanced and keeps the songs from being overproduced and masking 810’s voice. His cadence is energetic but not overbearing; lyrically speaking he’s more backpack than anything else but still throws in enough street-talk to keep tracks entertaining.

Here We Go Again is the best track, musically, on the tape. A heavy, deep and funky moving bass line keeps the song dynamic along with what seems to be faint layered horns that fill in with harmony. Couldn’t help but get my head nod on, plain and simple.

Bill Gates is the mixtape’s best example of 810’s wordplay. “Remember Shawn Carter/couldn’t hold the deal/he said fuck playing on teams/I’ma own the field.” Using Microsoft’s founder as an allegory, as well as Jay-Z reference above, 810 talks about the rap game, life on the street and the struggle that anyone with a dream fights on a daily basis by utilizing an extended metaphor to structure the song around this entrepreneurial skeleton. Plies may have all the Bust It babies in the world, but the smart money’s on he couldn’t get a goon within 500 yards of writing something like that.

Racism Reloaded is the concept song. Starting with Jim Crow references and plantation imagery, 810 paints the broader concept of discrimination in universal tones illustrating how society discriminates not just based on skin color but on income, living situations and other factors. Ahem, Nas – head’s up. Untitled 2? Think about it.

With energetic production, good lyrical content and a flow that comes across smoothly 810’s Supply and Demand strikes the right notes and gives back to hip-hop what rap has been sucking out of the genre for years – originality. Baltimore should be proud, 810 is making a real effort to keep quality rap afloat. Pop in the tape, it’s like coming home.

For more information on 810, visit his page HERE.