Reigning from the culturally eclectic city of Philadelphia (my hometown), Kid Travis is the latest rapper/singer/producer prepared to share his talents with the world.

Growing an audience of over 462K subscribers on his YouTube channel, through singing covers of today's hits, Kid Travis proves he's as gifted of a musician and vocalist as the artists he covers, with his latest release "9teen." Previously highlighting the track in our Friday Finds playlist update, it truly was one of – if not my favorite track to drop last week, warranting this deeper evaluation on Travis. In "9teen," Travis boasts his advanced songwriting, and insanely addicting hook melodies when he sings,

"We fell right in love at 9teen,

Used to be the only one on my team,

Used to give you lovin' that make you scream,

and yell like whatchu mean?"

The hook floats on an unhurried guitar melody, backed by well-mixed trap drums, reflecting on young love with an ex-partner. His sound has remnants of a Post Malone, or Bryson Tiller – yet more upbeat, carrying a unique Philly edge to it. With millions of streams and 600K monthly listeners on Spotify, I was surprised to see he's still independent. A founder of his own artist collective, "Groovie Gang," Kid Travis embodies the brotherly love upbringing of growing and building within your community, until the world is forced to notice. Get hooked before everyone else does, with one listen to "9teen" below.

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