Artist: Nom

Track: The Christening

Producer: Weirdough

Album: Lucid

“Your grill shining bright, but n**ga, what about your aura?” As evidenced by those lines from new single The Christening, Nom's priorities are a little different from your average emcee's. But we in the Booth appreciate a rapper willing to set himself apart from the pack and do something different—that's why we've decided to premiere the record on our pages. Here, beatsmith Weirdough's leisurely keyboard loops back the up-and-comer as he mixes bruising battle lyricism, poignant introspection and earnest social commentary. Along with his lyrical substance the Iowa native exhibits plenty of style, packing his bars with witty wordplay and deft internal rhyme. Craving more left-of-center flames from this unsigned spitter? Then mark your calendars for the September 16, release of his next full-length, the DJBooth-hostedLucid.