As a Detroit hip-hop veteran, Icewear Vezzo has earned his position in the city's hierarchy. With his first mixtape, The Clarity, dropping in 2013, and turning into a series, along with his presence in Detroit, the groundwork he's put in over time is respected. Clear of a two-year prison sentence in 2017, the Motown Records signee dropped Clarity 6 in late 2018 and has even more in store for this year. As a preview of what's next, Icewear Vezzo came to the XXL office and laid some bars down for the Flex Zone freestyle series.

The start of Vezzo's freestyle is about how he truly got it out of the mud, refusing to let his struggles get the best of him. "My teachers said I'll never make it/I got niggas prayin' that I never make it/Came up with a plan, we was playin' basic/Only way through a jam for every man is patience," he spits. "Yeah, niggas hustle, niggas doin' scams/Got it from my cousin, he was doin' time/Used to watch my uncle shoot, he was doin' grams/Ain't nobody help us out when we was doin bad."

Aside from spitting some bars, Vezzo also expressed how proud he is of where Detroit rap is headed in terms of popularity. "Tee Grizzley, he got on with that sound, we gotta appreciate that shit ’cause that shit brought a whole new set of eyes, and before that, Dej Loaf bought a whole new set of eyes," he shares.

His openness about Detroit's collective talent and their need to keep pushing shows that Vezzo has the right mindset. With an album slated for the summer and an upcoming tour, you'll be seeing more of him in 2019.

Catch Icewear Vezzo's freestyle at the top of the post.

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