The context behind ‘Toe to Toe’ is laid out in its entirety in this Instagram post, so it would be reductive of me to even attempt to relay the intensely personal story that the track tells. What you do need to do when pressing play on this song is that A-FiX is an incredibly compassionate rapper and lyricist whose love for his children comes above all.
A-FiX’s acknowledgement that he hasn’t been a perfect father is one of my favourite aspects of ‘Toe to Toe’. ‘Baby girl we’re going toe to toe with titans now, this ain’t no trick but I admit I haven’t been around.’ must have been a difficult first bar to write and record for the song’s second verse, yet the delivery couldn’t be any more honest and open-sounding. Backed by spangly acoustic guitars and impassioned humming that hang whimsically in the production’s background, A-FiX spits two short, punchy and emotionally potent verses interspersed with uber-slick hooks. Vocally the rapper is extremely confident-sounding, his words flowing over the beat beautifully and making for a wonderful introduction to his writing style. Flawlessly composed, ‘Toe to Toe’ is really powerful stuff and above all just a lovely, lovely homage to the people that matter the most in the artist’s life.
Listen to the song here.
Follow A-FiX on Twitter.
– Chris (@108seraph)
108MICS 