Jonathan Shapiro is a talented poet and freestyle artist, and he has already established a name for himself in the rap world despite being just 20 years old. After beginning his career in music at the tender age of 13, he is now juggling his love for music with his schooling at a local university. Shapiro has built a distinctive sound resonating well with audiences, and...

There's an intimacy to the new FREE/MAN release, "The Reconnection EP," that borders on a welcome invasion of personal space. It is the sonic equivalent of someone leaning in, not to share a secret, but to create the silence where your own might finally surface. Charlie Freeman hasn't built a grand cathedral of sound here; he's simply furnished a quiet room with stark, necessary...