Local Music Spotlight: Young Neves brings ‘Every Emotion’ to listeners in second major project

For his second major project, local rapper Alec Hopkins, who performs as Young Neves, boldly seeks to bring his listeners “Every Emotion.”

“What inspired the name of this project was Nipsey Hussle,” Hopkins explained. “He was in an interview, and he was talking about how he went through every emotion with this music stuff, the highs and lows. And it really hit me.”

Not only did the interview inspire the project’s name, but also its core concept. “And so, knowing that the Game was super close to Nipsey, that’s what made me reach out to him and kind of shoot him the idea behind my project.”

Hopkins’ got emphatic feedback from the L.A.-based rapper, who provided an intro for the project.

But to really pull through on his plans, Hopkins would need to dig deep. “What I’ve noticed in a lot of my favorite artists is they’re just vulnerable. They just let it all out there. That’s when you really get the music, that’s when it comes from the soul.”

For many of the project’s tracks, Hopkins takes that openness into stride and, over a beat that further draws on the emotions of the listener, raps with a mixture of confidence, clarity and tone.

Take opener “New Levels,” in which Hopkins discusses how from grief, from the lows, one can find a path to a “new level.”

The simple piano line evolves under percussion and Hopkins’ vocals. His rhymes are textured, and the lyrics, beat and tone mix together for one impactful, poignant sound.

“When you least expect it is when something great happens,” he said of the track’s message. “When you go through the worst times is when something great is about to happen. I really believe that.”

Throughout the album, Hopkins is upfront about his own worst times and how they stay with him even as life goes on. “I speak almost every song about my homie Devon who killed himself,” Hopkins said.

“And then my big brother who passed away a few years ago, just because of heart problems, just crazy, just random. I tap in with that side of me and let people feel the highs and lows that I’ve been going through.”

As much as it’s about facing up to those experiences for himself, Hopkins writes because he knows other people can benefit from his words, too. “Whether you’ve been through the exact same thing as me or not, the music may resonate.”

In order to pull from such personal experiences, Hopkins wrote much of the project at a small home studio of his own making.

As someone accustomed to working in bigger, more collaborative spaces, he found the change in environment thought-provoking and conducive to creating his desired result: “This one really comes from me.”

But he was keen to mention the influence of the producers and engineers who have surrounded him throughout the recording process, which took place here in Spokane at Amplified Wax, with James Hill.

The result of those studio sessions is a crisp sound and verses that blend beautifully into the beats and cut through, perfectly easy to understand.

Overall, the eight-track LP is hit after hit of sleek-smooth hip-hop with its heart in the right place. Each line falls right into place, and Hopkins shows his skills as a writer both clever and poignantly honest.

“This is my best body of work over the past few years, and the project is going to speak for itself,” he said. “It speaks so much pain. And it means so much to me, it’s more than setting the tone. But at the same time, I got bigger things coming.”

Young Neves’ “Every Emotion” is out Friday across all platforms. For more information on Hopkins’ music, visit youngneves.com and follow him on Instagram @YoungNeves.

Julien A. Luebbers can be reached at julien.luebbers@gmail.com.