Shogunโs debut single, โP.O.T.S (Presence of the Shogun)โ makes you sit up and pay attention. At just 20, the Telford rapper already wears his influences on his sleeve, Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man, MF DOOM, but he flips them into something fresh, bringing back that golden-era boom-bap grit with a modern, understated polish. With only a handful of listeners when he started, his authenticity is coming through as heโs already clocking over 1,000 streams.
The track itself opens heavy, with deep bass, like itโs crawling up from the floorboards, paired with delicate trickling piano notes and sparkly cymbal hits glinting at the edges. The grit tempered by finesse. When Shogun steps in, he raps with this unbothered, relentless cadence, like heโs got all the time in the world to stake his claim. The meditativeness in his delivery comes with the apathy that paradoxically turns magnetic. His flow doesnโt skip or break; itโs smooth, deliberate, and all the more commanding because of its restraint.
The lyricism implies that true presence doesnโt need to announce itself with fireworks. The lyrics lean on respect for the culture while carving space for his own name, carrying echoes of the old-school masters he admires but refusing to sound like an imitation.
All in all, โP.O.T.Sโ isnโt just an introduction โ itโs a statement. Shogun plants his flag firmly, reminding listeners that hip-hopโs roots are alive and well, just finding new soil in Telford.
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Review by: Naomi Joan