(Self-released, CD, digital)
Armed with confidence and conviction on his fourth studio album, a leading local rapper asserts his grit and proclaims a commitment to his craft while wielding his most pointed lyricism to date.
Verona, released this month, is the first full-length offering since summer 2020 from the Burlington-born musician Marek Lorenc, who records as Mavstar. The 11 flowing tracks bear insight and unleash the animosity of the worrisome and tumultuous past few years in America. They present an artist who’s determined to thrive on his abilities as a vocalist and hopeful to make a difference as a songwriter.
On the opening track, “Fly feat. Wombaticus Rex,” Lorenc spells out his resolve to use this as a year to launch himself, beginning with this showcase of his timely and potent speech. “I got the will to live, never had the fear to die,” he declares with swagger and a steady, rolling delivery that lends accessibility to this and each track on the album.
“Back in Action” contrasts funk with spacey ambience. Lorenc struts right through it, showing off his smooth transfer, subtly tweaking his pace and rhythm to emphasize key words and make every line pop.
Throughout the album, listeners might recognize melodies or hooks borrowed from popular hip-hop and rap hits, cleverly reinvented to enticing effect. Lorenc was a music theory and composition major at the University of Vermont, and the years he spent studying clarinet are vital to his creative efforts today. In his youth, he was a fan of legendary hardcore hip-hop pioneers Wu-Tang Clan and others, and he distills all these disparate influences into a compelling form on Verona.
The appearance of numerous accomplished Vermont friends on the album attests to Lorenc’s reputation. New England veteran Konflik and rising Vermont talent D.FRENCH blend their own unique expressions with suspenseful splices from the 1971 film Dirty Harry to make “Adamantium” one of the album’s most gripping pieces.
While Lorenc’s 2020 release Magnús Ver Mavússon paid tribute to the world-famous Icelandic strongman with a similar name, Verona honors a hero in his own life: his mother. The title track is a spirited “Happy Birthday” interlude for Verona, led by her son and backed by an ardent audience during one of Mavstar’s live sets.
Lorenc has overcome mental health challenges, as he told the Fine Print in a 2023 interview, and Verona spotlights his motivation as well as his talents. In “Moonlight,” he reveals his drive to succeed as an MC and describes it as his fate: “It’s like I was told to do this by God … I’mma go hard ’til it’s time to hang it up.”
In “Mavstar City,” he teams with the edgy and slick Joint Manipulation to investigate racial injustice by way of a fluid and thought-provoking groove. It’s the most embittered and unnerving of Verona‘s compositions.
“Let me ask you / When have you felt protected by the boys in blue when it comes to complexion?” Mavstar inquires. “I got an idea for the fun to never stop. / What if we took away the guns from the cops? / What if we question what the government is doing / and make great for the first time what was ruined?”
Lorenc’s past rails and rhymes were perceptive and assured, but Verona finds him at his most serious and persuasive, with help from some Green Mountain State hip-hop trendsetters. It’s his most absorbing work to date.
Verona is available on all major streaming platforms and can be purchased locally on CD.
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2024.
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