DeJ Loaf kicks off her remix of Beanie Siegel's 2004 classic, "In The Air," with a memory of being stopped at the airport coming back from South Africa with wads of cash. "I don't know how much this is, sir, I just grabbed it from the crib," she recounts telling the customs agent. The writerly attention she pays to this detail, no doubt a common occurrence for rap stars like DeJ, adds an extra degree of humanity to her subsequent verses. She presents a keen and balanced perspective on the past and present: her nostalgia is tempered by violence she saw growing up, and present successes come with phonies and crushing responsibilities. The details of her burdens are compelling, which might be why DeJ convinces us that she's strong enough to bear them. Listen below.
