Amanda Diva

Expanding on her established talent as a poet/MC, Amanda Diva goes extra hard on her freely distributed mixtape, Spandex Rhymes Soul, singing and rapping about love, politics and a fondness for stretchy material. A Def Poetry Jam alumnus, one-time fill-in member of R&B duo Floetry and recent Q-Tip collaborator, Diva expands on her hip-hop base and delivers a 13-track record full of mid-tempo boom-bap bangers and spacey electro-rap beats. Cool Kids' beatsmith Chuck Inglish and mixtape maestro Green Lantern show up to produce a few tracks (the stuttered "Devils" from the former, and "Heart Strings" and the bass-riddled "Colorblind" from the latter), but it's Diva's wisdom-laced, heartfelt inflection that pulls you in. Whether playfully crooning about a passion for brights on "Neon" or showing Obama love on the soulful live bonus cut "Diva's Black Spangled Banner," the L.A.-born, NY-based dynamo varies her style enough to keep the record interesting from top to bottom.