GAWNE – CHOPPER (FASTEST RAP EVER)
GAWNE traces his origins back to Chicago, a city with its own prestigious rap heritage. But the young Luke Gawne might have been born in Chicago, but he wasn’t born into hip-hop. Instead, he found hip-hop in some of his darkest moments, and he made the genre his own.
After a traumatic brain injury changed Luke’s life, he found his world turned upside down. He was taken out of school, forced to study at home as the injury made vision and concentration difficult. While most high school kids enjoy watching TV to get a bit of downtime, this was a real chore for the young man, and his visual problems began to take a real psychological toll, which is still very much evident in his songwriting.
This was where hip-hop and rap music really changed the game. Struggling to find an outlet for his frustrations, music became his therapy. Penning lyrics, or simply just letting his soul speak for itself through his flow, the youngster took his first steps toward something great. Luke Gawne became GAWNE, and the creative journey of the young artist began to take shape.
From 2010 to 2015, GAWNE honed his craft. His first EP, Gawne Lane, set the tone for what was to come. Raw, angry, but touched with real skill and creativity, this was a startling record. Not only did GAWNE have a dream, but he had something to say too, and it’s this storytelling, message-driven work that has won him legions of fans.
A slew of top-ranking collabs followed. Working with the likes of Tech N9ne, Slaughterhouse, Lil Xan, and basketball all-time legend Shaquille O’Neal, GAWNE found himself sprinting up that rap ladder with ease. Comparisons to Twista, another rapper blessed with real rapid-fire skill, were inevitable, but GAWNE was very much focused on going his own way.
Just like Jay-Z delivered his own State of the Union address with “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” GAWNE was ready to take his own shots at the contemporary rap game. In 2020, he released one of his most talked-about tracks to date, “Death to Mumble Rap.” Sick of artists with little to say, and no flow to deliver it, GAWNE sought to blow the genre wide open. He certainly achieved that, and the results were controversial. But then, big statements always are.
Reviewing the Track – “Chopper”
If all that has got you itching to hear GAWNE let loose, then “Chopper” is the ideal place to start. Coming in with an eerily thin synth organ to accompany his introduction, GAWNE sets the stage for what’s to come. Those creepy ’80s horror movie aesthetics give way to something altogether more cinematic, with urgent strings and instrumentation that turns the tension to the max… then GAWNE really gets going.
Like Usain Bolt in his prime, GAWNE comes out of those blocks relaxed and limber. This is a man who knows… he knows what he’s capable of, and he knows it’s going to be jaw-dropping when it comes. He’ll get there in his own time, and he’s not afraid to let his competitors get their short-lived head start.
Bolt was unstoppable at mid-race – no one faster, before or since – and GAWNE is his rap equivalent. His flow is delivered a mile a minute, but with such turn-on-a-dime precision and deliberate cadence, you can barely believe it humanly possible. Fans of vintage Twista and Busta Rhymes know what can happen when a skilled rapper really puts themselves through their paces, but GAWNE can certainly go toe to toe with those guys.
To hear him deliver like this, for three straight minutes, with no let up… it really is something to behold.
Streaming now on 25/8/366 Global Radio at rBeatz.com.