(Music Lab Records, digital, limited vinyl)
Robscure is a rapper and producer who reps Washington, Vt., a tiny town in the hills of Orange County. Naturally enough, he’s since moved to New York City, but he’s remained a constant presence in the Green Mountain hip-hop scene that raised him. (In fact, he was in Burlington over the weekend opening for R.A.P. Ferreira at Light Club Lamp Shop.)
His latest album, FIRE: Forged in Rare Ethos, marks the end of his “element series,” a thematic quadrilogy he started in 2021 with EARTH: Eventually All Returns to Here. With 2022’s AIR: Answers in Release, the young artist reached a new level of quality control — and sheer songwriting ambition. 2024’s WATER: We Are the Eternal Ripple pushed the envelope even further with a newfound musicality that drew from jazz and R&B in equal measure.
No stranger to the indie hustle, Robscure hyped his latest LP with a downright professional cross-platform rollout that included some outstanding music videos. The effort was worth it: FIRE is a short, potent set of nothing but polished bangers. It also features some incredible guest artists, including West Coast battle legend Locksmith, superhuman Kansas chopper Seuss Mace and a long-overdue collaboration with Vermont’s own fast-rap champion, Jarv.
Robscure has never sounded so good on the mic. In fact, he’s never sounded better period, courtesy of expert mixing and mastering work from Ethan Wilson of Grove Studios. (Robscure is a highly competent DIY engineer, but it always helps to hand your final product over to a fresh set of ears.) Crucially for a concept album, the production suits the theme, thanks to a well-curated bricolage of beats.
As a writer, Robscure remains an earnest young man with a troubled conscience. His raps are both political and philosophical, but he’s savvy enough to let his wordplay speak for itself without resorting to the kind of moralizing clichés that tend to make “conscious rap” so painful to listen to. Whether he’s grappling with media addiction (“NEON SIGNS”) or the looming threat of nuclear war (“M.A.D. WORLD”), his trains of thought are genuinely compelling rides. He is also more creative than ever with his flow patterns, crafting rigorous puzzle boxes that demand repeat listens.
For my money, though, nothing hits harder than the closing track, “CAMPFIRE STORY,” which attempts nothing less than a retelling of human history in a little under four minutes. It’s a stroke of genius that elevates an already powerful project.
Success in the music business is a mysterious thing, and New York City has swallowed many millions of dreams. It’s impossible to say what kind of impact this latest LP will have on Robscure’s budding career. But at the very least, he has pushed himself to new heights and delivered his best work to date. If you have somehow managed to sleep on his brilliance, now is the ideal time to fix that.
FIRE: Forged in Rare Ethos is available on major streaming platforms.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2025.
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