Out of the many rappers from Milwaukee who are popping off right now, David Lopez is one of the most important and most fun ones to follow. He is integral to the growth of the Hip Hop scene in Milwaukee. This is not only through his own music but also through his dedication to growing the scene as a whole through the collaborative events he throws throughout the year in the city. David Lopez is a bringer of good energy; as he shines, Milwaukee shines as well. David has been putting in work and honing his craft for quite a while. His first releases on Spotify go all the way back to 2015. David Lopez has really started to pop off in the 2020s, though, and has especially started to see traction recently. Some of his biggest music to date has come out in the last couple of years. Since 2022, David Lopez has been steadily on the rise, putting out some of the most interesting music to come out of Milwaukee. After releasing a plethora of stand-alone singles in 2022 and a very good joint EP with Laalow called BYOB, David Lopez took Milwaukee by storm in 2023. Songs like ‘Sunday Sermon’ and ‘Keys To The City’ did numbers and took off in underground Hip Hop communities, putting him on the map as one who needs to be paid attention to in Hip Hop. In addition to those singles as well as a number of other very good singles that he put out last year, David Lopez also released an EP called WITNESS with the producer EWordG. David Lopez has been determined to ride his momentum in 2024 and has not stopped working in the slightest. He began the year with dropping his excellent album Cafecito, which I reviewed as one of the best Milwaukee projects of the year and also as one of my favorite Hip Hop albums of the year, period. He followed up that album with a couple more very nice singles(including ‘PRIMETIME,’ the lead single off of his new EP. David Lopez recently released the sequel to that 2023 collaborative EP, WITNESS 2. Here are some of my thoughts on this new project from David Lopez. Let me know in the comments below how you feel about David Lopez’s WITNESS 2, and also comment the names of some up-and-coming artists or Milwaukee artists you think I should check out.
David Lopez begins WITNESS 2 in a pretty big and anthemic way with ‘FOREST GUMP.’ This song has a pretty different sound from what I have become accustomed to hearing from David Lopez. ‘FOREST GUMP’ is a two-part song with each section being very distinct and bold. The first half of the song is driven by a dystopian melody put over an anxious, bass-heavy beat. A lot of his music has more of a classic Hip Hop theme to it, but this one feels futuristic. The synths that drive this melody are very fat and pretty distorted. They have a looming tone that is also very epic. The second half of ‘FOREST GUMP’ has more of a gritty Southern Trap feeling to it. This melody is more straightforward and more menacing. The beat during this section of the song has a Trap tempo, but also almost has a marching band feeling to it. David Lopez’s vocals on this track change drastically during the two sections. His vocals in the first half of the song almost feel frantic, and his vocals in the second half feel brash and almost confrontational. He definitely matches the energy of both sections of the ‘FOREST GUMP’ super well. In ‘FOREST GUMP,’ David Lopez raps about how he is determined to keep working hard and become the greatest at his craft. He loves what he does, and will not stop grinding and running to the top of the mountain. The aforementioned single ‘PRIMETIME’ comes next. I will not write as much about this song here, as I included it in a write-up about David Lopez’s two post-Cafecito singles which I posted a couple of months ago. I will say that I love how positive and uplifting the sound of this song is. The melody is very bright and welcoming, and David Lopez’s rap performance is so lively and encouraging. This is the kind of song to turn on for some instant motivation or just to cheer you up when you are feeling low. On ‘PRIMETIME,’ David Lopez acknowledges how hard he works and how he is starting to see the fruits of his own labor. The sentiment of this track totally matches its inspiring sound. ‘REPRESENT’ is super different from what I would have expected to hear from David Lopez. This track has a gritty, hard-hitting, underground Trap sound that is intense and mean-sounding. The melody for this track is threatening, sounding like something from a horror movie. There are bells and other weird sound effects that complement this melody and make it extra audacious. This melody is put on top of a huge Trap beat that absolutely bangs and makes this song so harsh in the best way. David Lopez’s vocals on ‘REPRESENT’ are just as brash and in-your-face as the instrumental. He more than matches the energy of this beat with his flow and his tone, taking the power of the track over the top. On ‘REPRESENT,’ David Lopez calls out his haters and rivals and asserts that no one is more passionate about their craft than him and no one is working harder. ‘REAL ONES’ sees David Lopez team up with his frequent collaborator in Heyzeus. These two have come together to make some magic in the past, and they killed it again on this track. ‘REAL ONES’ has a groove and simple melody with a pretty mesmerizing tone. This melody is driven by a smooth guitar riff that is complemented with some shimmering synths with varying amounts of reverb, giving the song a pretty cool texture. This melody is put on top of an easy-going Trap beat that fits the silky feeling of the melody nicely. The instrumental for ‘REAL ONES’ is cool, but the vocals from David Lopez and Heyzeus take it over the top. I really enjoy the way David Lopez’s higher pitch and energetic tone contrast with the more laid-back and lower tone that Heyzeus raps with. The juxtaposition that their vocals create gives this song so much life and makes it pop. On ‘REAL ONES,’ David Lopez and Heyzeus rap about their work ethic and impact, and how they only want to surround themselves with people who are on their level
‘CAME UP PT. 2,’ which features another very talented Milwaukee rapper in Lady Sabo, has more of a grand and triumphant sound to it. This song reminds me a lot of ‘PRIMETIME,’ and overall has a sound that is closer to what I associate with David Lopez. This track is driven by a whimsical, floaty melody with a super bright tone. This melody sounds like it is being driven by a plethora of string instruments, and has such a welcoming sunny feeling. The melody is put on top of an intricate, hard-hitting Trap beat, which makes ‘CAME UP PT. 2’ feel super weighty. David Lopez does his thing on this track, rapping with a fast-paced and crisp flow that gives energy to the track. Lady Sabo really stands out on ‘CAME UP PT. 2,’ though. Her untroubled, sultry flow and easy-going tone contrast David’s more forceful delivery in a very cool way. Her delivery gives the song a lighter element. I appreciate it a ton. On ‘CAME UP PT. 2,’ David Lopez and Lady Sabo rap to a significant other. They are asking this person if they are ready to live this fast life that they live, and they want to know if this person can handle the pressure of being with them. David Lopez slows and calms things down a significant amount in ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (Interlude).’ This song has by far the most easy-going and soft sound of anything on the album. It is driven by a very soothing and sweet Flute melody that has an old school Jazz Fusion to it. This flute-esque melody is complemented by synths with varying power that come in and out and give it a bit of texture as the song progresses. The drum pattern for ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (Interlude)’ has a classic Jazz tempo to it as well. This drum pattern makes me think of the kind of Jazz music one might have heard in a club back in the 1950s or 1960s. David Lopez’s vocals on this one are pretty understated, putting most of the focus on this very cool instrumental. He does rap a bit on this one, though, talking about how he is never going to stop grinding and how he feels like he is a long way away from achieving his dreams. David Lopez closes out WITNESS 2 on a very gleaming and ethereal note with ‘ROI.’ This song has a somewhat similar feeling to ‘PRIMETIME.’ The feeling of this instrumental is very brilliant and striking; this song certainly has a feeling that is monumental. The melody for ‘ROI’ sounds like the horns I would imagine are playing when one enters heaven(or something of that nature). These horns that drive this melody are so luscious and dazzling, making this track feel super vivid. The beat for ‘ROI’ is not the most intense or intricate, but it does pound pretty well and does a solid job of matching the energy of this melody. David Lopez delivers what may be his most fierce and zestful vocal performance of the project on ‘ROI.’ This song has a pretty imposing tone, and his vocals match that feeling for sure. On ‘ROI,’ David Lopez raps about how the success he has attained has opened up opportunities in his life that he may not have dreamed of in the past. He is able to spend the way he wants to spend and go where he wants to go because of the fruits of his labor. ‘ROI’ is a glorious way to close out WITNESS 2 and send it out with a bang.
As I stated in the introduction, David Lopez has been on a hell of a run recently. He has been working hard for such a long time to build his empire and perfect his craft, and it really seems like he is coming into his own in the last couple of years. WITNESS 2 is yet another example of David Lopez excelling at what he does and showing that he is still improving and growing. Before I get into David’s performances, I wanted to shout out EWordG quickly. Frankly, he absolutely kills it with every instrumental on this project. The instrumentals on WITNESS 2 are so diverse, fun, and interesting. There are so many different kinds of Hip Hop highlighted in this project, and each instrumental is brilliant in its own way. Because the instrumentals are so diverse, it feels like David Lopez is forced outside his comfort zone a bit on WITNESS 2. Even though these instrumentals are so varied and eclectic, David Lopez sounds supernatural on every track. He shows that he can rap on a ton of different kinds of instrumentals, changing up his flow, tone, and overall style depending on the sound of the song. Both of David Lopez’s features kill it on this project as well, contributing performances that switch things up and give their songs something fresh. Lyrically, as always David Lopez is in his bag on WITNESS 2. His lyrics are a testament to his hard work and dedication, and pretty much every one of these songs is motivating. Overall, WITNESS 2 is yet another really good project from David Lopez that once again proves he is one of the most riveting artists in Milwaukee right now, and I can not wait to see what he has coming down the pipe.
EAST SIDE VIBES 