This article is from the October issue of Breezes. Pick up a copy and start reading today!

Former Minnetonka Junior and current Hopkins Senior, Michael (Absolute.) Hirschuber made some noise this summer with his creative EP  “Walk on By,” which drew a lot of attention around the Lake Conference area for its uncommon sound, highlighted by chill beats played behind monotone lyrics. The far out and anomalous kick-back tracks of Absolute are subject to both high praise and equally felt criticism. While both sides carry incongruent opinions about Absolute’s music, few can discredit his unprecedented originality, a concept that Absolute appreciates greatly. Absolute’s music features thematic lyrics that are spoken in a distinctive, almost whisper-like flow, contradicting the typical characteristics of mainstream hip-hop.  When I asked Hirschuber about his style in our interview, Hirschuber said that he’s “not trying to be a typical rapper, talking about girls, money, and getting to the top of game,” but rather to have a focus on the real or “Absolute” aspects of daily life, and to do so in his own unique and “laid back” way. His very pseudonym is a testament to his goal of delivering meaningful and realistic content to his listeners. “Lyrics come first” in the music of Absolute. He meticulously writes and practices his rhymes before even selecting a beat. This process separates him from the mutual relationship that most rappers share between lyric and beat. While most rappers seek a pleasant sounding compromise between their lyrics and instrumentals, Hirschuber targets lyrical precision above all, creating one of a kind and seemingly off beat tracks. This process inadvertently makes Absolute’s lyrics stick out way more than they would in a typical, production focused rap song.  These lyrics can be easily evaluated and understood, a concept that many modern artists like Future and OG Maco generally lack. Whether you like Absolute or not, you can’t help but admire his lack of conformity to the mainstream trends of rap. Absolute’s style is strangely original and incomparably different from the previous, and generally unoriginal Lake Conference rappers before him.