Mani Jurdan- Ntro 2 Da Ntro

Mani Jurdan of HUEY Gang has finally dropped his debut project “Ntra 2 Da Ntro”, the tape has nine tracks, five of which Mani carries with no features. The lyrics on the project offer a window into his life, most notably about the loss of his younger brother to gun violence last winter. He voices his frustrations with police brutality and the systematic disadvantages he faces as a black man over gritty, hard-hitting production on several tracks and contemplates these challenges over more laid-back instrumentation on others.

The production is handled by a variety of producers, with LA-native OwenOb taking the cake with three production credits. The diverse yet cohesive group of beats proves that Mani has an ear for beats and a clear artistic vision that will carry him throughout his career. While Mani does all the rapping himself on the project, he carefully chose the features to complement both his rapping and the production. From Zxxk’s guitar work on “Myself” to stellar vocal performances by Stark of HUEY and John Renaissance on “Venus, Mars”, the features provide the project with some extra flair.

On one of the most intriguing songs on the project “He Say”, Mani pays homage to Chicago-legend Lupe Fiasco, with his own take on Lupe’s “He Say, She Say”. Rapping from the perspective of both a fatherless child and a father who is being kept from his son, Mani gives a voice to the many men who are forced to deal with the issues that arise from those circumstances. On the chorus, Mani softens his voice and bends his cadence around the mellow Jazz backing.

“Ntro 2 Da Ntro” is a fantastic debut project from an artist that we’ve been keeping tabs on since he emerged on the rap scene a few years ago. The growth Mani has exhibited since we first learned about him is remarkable and if he continues to improve Mani Jurdan could soon become a household name in the Chicago rap scene. Listen to the tape below!