Metasota, a.k.a Meta, is one of those names that I heard people mention here and there, but for whatever reason I never took it upon myself to fully seek his music out. I actually just remembered while writing this that about a year ago, I was approached by a national retail clothing chain to help them find some Twin Cities freestyle MCs for an AD campaign they were working on. When I was asked for some of Twin Cities finest freestyle MCs I had my own ideas, but I also asked around to a few of my peers, and Metasota was a name that popped up a couple times. I checked out a couple of his freestyle videos on YouTube and was impressed, so I added his name to the list of the seven local MC names that I sent the company. When I heard back from them, they informed that Meta was one of their top two picks for the campaign. I never heard if the campaign actually happened or if they even reached out to him.

However, destiny would not let the opportunity slip away so easily. Nearly a month after that last correspondence, lo and behold I received the latest edition of the Sound of the City (Volume 12) digital compilation. Sound of the City is a music series that heavily focuses on Twin Cities talent, compiled and distributed by George Shannon in conjunction with his venture, 4SeenMagazine.Com. Volume 12 featured a Metasota track called “NinetySeven," which featured him spitting over Cappadonna’s “97 Mentality.” I was quite impressed, which resulted in my playing it on Redefinition Radio. From that moment I was curious to hear more of his music, and his Meta May series, where he released a new song every day for the month of May 2012, was just a few months old.

Fast-forward to just a few months ago when the Micranots did a special performance of “Obelisk Movements” at 7th St. Entry and Metasota was one of the openers. Watching his set was the final bit of inspiration that I needed to be converted into a full-fledged fan. He rocked the stage with great stage presence, charisma, and his trademark high-level lyricism. I wasted no time getting my hands on his Meta May series (which has since been compiled onto CD) and eventually his latest release, Still Happy I’m Present. Both releases were a well enjoyed listening experience, as I expected by this juncture. Meta’s music displays his engaging personality and poignant writing. Furthermore, his writing is well developed in all aspects. The verses are consistently composed of witty lines and are technically sound, with vivid, realistic, often gritty and emotional imagery.

He just released the a video for the track "Force Fed" (produced by Bobby Raps) from his Still Happy I’m Present CD, which gives a honest depiction of a hungry artist attempting to balance music and survival. Although it took a few false starts for me to get completely on track as a listener, I’m fully tuned in now and looking forward to what the future brings with Metasota. He’s currently one of my favorite MCs in the Twin Cities…easily.

--Kevin Beacham

Catch Kevin Beacham and Siddiq’s hip-hop show H2 every Wednesday night at 10 p.m. on 89.3 The Current. Their all-Minnesota hip-hop show, H2 Local, airs Tuesdays at noon and Wednesday nights at 11 p.m. on the Local Current stream. You can listen to the Local Current stream at thecurrent.org/local, on HD radio in the Twin Cities at 89.3 HD2, and via the MPR Radio app, which is available for iPhones and Androids.