Portland, Oregon rapper Think2wice has teamed up with Vernon, Connecticut’s MCRE for a 14-track album with layered meaning and immersive lyrical content. Featuring El Gant and others, When No One’s Listening is dedicated not only to the upcoming artist whose talent is overlooked, but also any of us who pursue passions which don’t always provide immediate gratification. In the case of these two, that passion is Hip-Hop music, and that is perhaps embodied best in MCRE’s creative process.

Despite being busy with three young children and a demanding work schedule, he was able to record and mix the album with nothing more than his iPhone, minivan, and a digital microphone. The conceptual framework of the LP can be seen in its building blocks, namely the track list. Each song explores a particular facet in the search for personal and creative fulfillment. Says Think2wice, “many of the tracks deal directly with issues upcoming artists of any genre or craft may face: self doubt and depression (‘Lost’), the desire to leave a worthwhile legacy behind (‘All I Need’), pursuing your passion through adversity (‘When No One’s Listening’), dealing with societal changes and political division (‘Two Sides Of The Same Coin’), the constant change of the genre and how to deal with it (‘I Still Love Her’) and remembering our roots and how our passion first started (‘Rewind’)”. According to MCRE, “we really wanted to get away from ‘bars’ on this album. I think we addressed a lot of personal issues, issues about Hip-Hop in the present day and issues about society and politics. We definitely wanted this album to have real meaning and to have the listeners dive into our lyrics and analyze them instead of just nodding their collective heads. We want to have our listeners experience and engage in the album even though some of these tracks definitely bump!”

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