''Searching Sylvan'' is a
mixtape by
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
Sylvan LaCue, known at the time as QuESt, that was released on September 2, 2014. The mixtape was released under the
Visionary Music Group label that QuESt was temporarily a part of.
Background
QuESt states that ''Searching Sylvan'' was a tale of his life since May 10, 2012.
The mixtape is in a timeline of events, with ''
The Source
''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the maga ...
'' explaining how ''Searching Sylvan'' explains QuESt's relationship difficulties, family issues and all that he has endured.
Such events in ''Searching Sylvan'' include the murder of QuESt's friend over an
iPhone in, the street culture in Miami based on the murderer and other events in QuESt's life.
Composition
The album begins with a cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Amer ...
, with the first track happening after the final track in the mixtape's timeline, representing QuESt going back to square one. QuESt uses flexible flows throughout the mixtape and his lyrics show his emotions in rhymes about daydream
Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...
s and real-life issues, such as having a friend becoming paralyzed after being shot.[
]
Reception
''Searching Sylvan'' received unanimous critical acclaim upon its release, praising the compositions, and lyrics of the mixtape. ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' named QuESt on their ''11 Artists You Need To Know For The Rest Of 2014'' list, with ''The Huffington Post'' stating "QuESt is about to prove himself one of the most promising storytellers in hip-hop" and that ''Searching Sylvan'' was not "just one of the best mixtapes or hip-hop releases this year ... tis one of the best albums all year". Near the end of 2014, ''The Huffington Post'' placed ''Searching Sylvan'' #6 on their list of ''The 15 Most Underrated Albums Of The Year''.
''The Source'' says that ''Searching Sylvan'' has "incredible production, which is only matched and surpassed by QuESt’s versatile flows". Concerning the content of the mixtape, ''The Source'' states that the project is "as high-quality as you can manage" and has "a surprising level of replay value".[
]
Track list
Credits adapted from Sylvan's SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Searching Sylvan)
2014 mixtape albums