Luck-One, the silver-tongued (not silver-spooned) Seattle-by-way-of-Portland MC is the kind of lyricist

Luck-One, the silver-tongued (not silver-spooned) Seattle-by-way-of-Portland MC is the kind of lyricist that can deliver highly technical verses without losing the everyman approachability that make his songs so easy to listen to. Still riding the buzz from his superb sophomore full-length True Theory, the man named Hanif Collins has just released “Breakthrough”, a thoughtful, well put together track from his next release, King of the Northwest, out August 30.As an MC, Collins can rattle off punch-line raps with the best of them (“This is the apex/Gotta break through to live, this is the latex”), but his real charm lies in his ability to take a fresh look at such broad topics as life, where he lives, the daily grind, in which he is able to draw a personal connection, or at least intrigue using his striking personal experiences, and sound smooth as hell while doing it. When he ad-libs “I feel like this is gonna be a good summer. Not even on some rap stuff, but like, on some real-life stuff,” it makes you feel good for him. We hope you have a good summer too, Luck.The beat is equally nice: whimpering piano keys over a reassuring bass line. The change-up toward the end of the track isn’t an epic drop, but it surprises with its cleanliness when it comes back around after a tinny spiral-down. The minute Luck moved to Seattle, he became one of the most well-rounded and captivating hip-hop artists in the town, and “Breakthrough” is a shining example.Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.