WebsterX, the pet project of East Side rapper Sam Ahmed, came out of nowhere last year with the beyond-his-years debut, Desperate Youth. Besides nabbing a spot on our best Milwaukee albums of the 2010s (so far) list, the impressive introduction spawned a flurry of shows with many, many more on the way in Ahmed’s first festival season performing under the now-noted moniker.
So where can WebsterX go from here? As he works on a follow-up album and prepares to drop a new single/video for “Renaissance,” Ahmed partnered with Klassik, Vonny del Fresco, and Lord Fredd33 of Eye.$ee.You (or “E$Y”) on a strikingly different collaborative remix of the title track of the album that helped him break into local consciousness. Ahmed said the aim of the remix was to “show that this city has great hip-hop artists and that we can all work together” and to “bring a taste of unity to the city and outside of it.”
As we wait to see if WebsterX can catch lyrical lightning in a bottle again, the “Desperate Youth” remix—and Ahmed’s always-packed show schedule—should help hold us over for a while.