Tito Lopez, The Hunger Game

Tito Lopez has been an underdog his whole life. From his start in Mississippi, the young MC has had to fight his way into the limelight. Lopez had approached the music industry like a game of cat and mouse of sorts, not letting small setbacks throw him off his goal to be praosed as one of the best. Though he's not quite there yet, it is this passion and energy that Lopez unleashes in his new project, The Hunger Game.

From a production standpoint, the tape offers a solid class of beatsmiths, consisting of The Futuristiks, Sleep Deez of the Academy and more. Each producer does a great job molding beats to suit the venomous lyrical barrage Tito fires off from track to track. Sonically, each beat has a quick tempo and vibrant drums giving cuts energy, which makes the project an easy listen.

Tito decides to keep this project a solo effort with no collaborations, which works in his favor. Throughout the tape, the Capitol Records signee tells stories of his past experiences and doesn't allow other artists words to muddle the listeners opportunity to step inside his world. As a result, conceptually the tape comes out clear as day.

Throughout the release, Tito delivers sizzling hot bars with a razor sharp delivery. Known for his clever radio freestyles, the 24-year-old wanted to show fans that he could bottle that same energy from his freestyles and unleash the fury with songs, which he was able to do. He shows his insightful and introspective side with "Jessica," a song about his childhood crush and how he courts her from his older competition in high school. The MS native deftly balances top-tier wordplay with punchlines that possess food for thought on "Conversations With Tito," with bars like," Your back-handed compliments, are condiments/Y'all niggas ketchup/I mustard up the strength to go forward and put my best up/So mayo next opponent relish in the moment, 'cause they probably gonna be the next cut."

Indeed, Lopez is ready to eat in the rap game. He's representing the voice of the underdog, telling the stories of the common man with flair and gusto. Lopez has proven in The Hunger Games that he plans to stick around for a while. —Christian Mordi (@mordi_thecomeup)