Eddie Valero - "Gangsta Blues" (Album)

Steeped in the musical traditions of his city, Memphis rapper Eddie Valero is a student of the game. Today, the rising artist makes his most complete statement to date, releasing his new album Gangsta Blues. Spanning 11 tracks, the high-octane album harkens back to all eras of Memphis music, from the country-fried underground rap of the 90s, to the hustle-hard anthems of recent years, reaching all the way back to the blues that made Beale Street famous. Processing his trauma and chronicling his come up through his lyrics and toe-tagging beats with his flows, Eddie Valero uses his virtuosity as a weapon in the same way that Memphis bluesmen like B.B. King once did. Crafted by producers including BandPlay, Luh Ron, and DT Da Kidd, Gangsta Blues is a treat for fans who appreciate 70s soul as much as modern trap, weaving in samples from greats like Curtis Mayfield (on mood-setting intro “60 Dayz“) and The Isley Brothers (on self-assured closer “Superstar“) to animate Eddie’s street stories. Eddie’s resonant rap voice bounces off twangy guitars and speaker-knocking 808s, as he talks his fly sh*t (“Diamonds sing like Johnny Gill,” he says in recent single “New Edition“) and gives glimpses into the darker aspects of his rise. The Orange Mound native earns major co-signs from two of his state’s most respected rap names: 8Ball, of legendary duo 8Ball & MJG, blesses the neighborhood anthem “For The Hood” with his gruff gravitas, while Nashville’s Starlito croaks a standout guest verse on “Participation Trophies.” Also featuring the recent single “Zombies,” Gangsta Blues is available on all platforms via ONErpm. Along with the tape, Eddie releases the video for “60 Dayz,” the album’s cinematic opening track, today at 6pm ET. The song begins with the warm, familiar tones of Curtis Mayfield singing “Eddie, You Should Know Better,” a classic from his Superfly soundtrack: “Eddie, you should know better/Brother, you know you’re wrong/Think of the tears and fears/You bring to your folks back home.” In his simmering verse, Eddie validates Curtis’s concerns, as the rapper challenges his rivals to go band for band and touts his lyrical and literal firepower: “Eagles in the trunk, I threw the bomb out just like Jalen Hurts.” In the video, Lero puts in multiple kinds of work, accompanying baddies to the gym before doing his business in an abandoned building. Born and raised in Memphis, Eddie Valero has built a large audience in his city and beyond the hard way, never compromising his style and eschewing high-profile co-signs on his route to local legend status. Growing up in awe of his city’s OGs, Eddie worked hard at his craft, using his expert beat selection and gritty storytelling to grow his following to over 60k YouTube subscribers. Always confident fans would find him, he started his signature mixtape series, Until They Feel Me, in 2021, releasing 4 installments in all, featuring local hits like “Lero BandPlay” (1.38 million Spotify streams) his hard-hitting collab with the PRE-signed producer. In 2023, he dropped “Flex N Go” with JpOnTheTrack, racking up over 2.5 million YouTube views in the process, and he followed in 2024 with the Undefeated mixtape. Most recently, Eddie shared Just For Y’all, a no frills street tape featuring the buzzing single “Money Locked In.” This weekend, Eddie Valero hits the road, opening for Don Trip & Starlito on their “Step Brothers 4 Life Tour” on several dates this summer. - via ImprintEnt