“The World Ends Never” by Brisx | Song Premiere

Another promising sign for Omaha hip-hop: it’s caught a recent musical immigrant from one of the South’s foremost music cities. In this case, that’s the former Memphis emcee Brisx, aka, Donte Beasley.

Below, you can stream the exclusive premiere of “The World Ends Never” from Brisx’s forthcoming September EP, Open. He’s using “EP” loosely in this case, as Brisx says the collection constitutes 15 tracks in a conceptual framework, something like a storyboard.

“The World Ends Never,” specifically, is an early-life chapter, chronicling the dire straits Brisx’s experiences growing up on the south side of Memphis. There’s an anger to the delivery and a tension to the skittering beat that subverts the calming words of an Ian McKellen Lord of the Rings monologue that opens the track. The lyrics and chorus hinge on a hunger for mark-making that proclaims now as the time. The past has already happened, and it strikes the listener as a cruel one. In turn, the back half of the track takes a deep breath and softens. If this is any indication, Brisx’s EP will demonstrate wide emotional range.

You can see Brisx at the two-day College X River Rave 2014, starting Friday, Aug. 29. at Sokol Park, and listen to the premiere of “The World Ends Never” below: