There’s a lot that could be said about the past of HeeSun Lee. Put up for adoption in Korea at four months old, she ended up moving halfway across the world to New York with new parents and grew up struggling to find her identity. But Lee’s vision is now set on the future, as evidenced in her new EP, Flying Cars, which packs a punch full of strong rhymes, catchy beats, and personal lyrics.

Flying Cars is a very accessible EP, relatively speaking. It may not draw in many non-hip hop fans, but it has the ability to appeal to both modern and classic hip hop heads. “The Best Is Yet To Come” has a lot of qualities that really remind me of the Tunnel Rats; the beat in particular sounds like it could’ve fit well on Tunnel Vision. Her style of rapping fits the bill, too. She sounds confident and her flow is excellent, especially when she flows in and out of Korean in the second verse. Lee brings a more modern touch to “Top” and “Delorean,” with a much heavier emphasis on trap music for the beat and a good portion of her flow. “Delorean” actually ends up being one of my favorite tracks here, though. At first, the trap sound really turned me off, but as you listen more, she goes from rapping in triplets to having a more complex pattern. It falls in line with the lyrics, too: “They told me to switch it up be relevant, they told me switch it up be relevant? Spit like a mumble rapper, there’s a ton of rappers that are dumbing rappers down, it’s cool I’ll make fun of rappers that don’t understand why they becoming rappers, look I’m done with rappers, I can’t stomach rappers that are living like this so I’m coming rappers.” Lee is focused and works the beat how she wants, and she proves she can handle whatever style comes her way.

Lee’s lyrics are honest and open, wearing her heart on her sleeve and unafraid to share the darker parts of her life. “Lap” is a touching track about her being put up for adoption and her story with attempting to have her own family. She doesn’t shy away from the depth of emotion and heartache that she’s experienced, and it’s easy to empathize with her, especially if her story relates to yours. The title track closes the EP on a related and wonderful note. Less of a rap song and more of a spoken word piece, “Flying Cars” is dedicated to Lee’s daughters. She encourages them to be strong and hold onto faith, even though the world is broken and life can be difficult. She does this while also praising their precious and childlike tendencies to love people without bias. The acoustic guitar driving the track is upbeat and hopeful, complementing the track perfectly.

I was unfamiliar with Lee’s work before coming across Flying Cars, and I was surprised to find a highly enjoyable collection of hip hop. Having visited her other albums since, I’m a little bummed to only now be discovering her music. If you’re also new to Lee’s music, Flying Cars is a great way to become acquainted. She’s a talented emcee with a bright future, and I can’t wait to follow her journey. You’d do well to do the same.

- Review date: 4/13/19, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com

Record Label: None
Album length: 6 tracks: 23 minutes, 2 seconds
Street Date: March 8, 2019
Buy It: iTunes

1. Future (3:07)
2. The Best Is Yet To Come (3:28)
3. Top (3:25)
4. Delorean (3:56)
5. Lap (4:57)
6. Flying Cars (4:09)