Meta4

A product of Park Slope, Brooklyn, Meta4 is an 18-year-old whose rhymes are anything but juvenile.

This cynical New Yorker once dropped his pen and pad altogether, but his latest endeavors have turned his hiatus into history. Channeling his creative energy into lyrical art, he paid his dues at an early age in order to gain hometown credibility.

From humble house-party beginnings, Adrian Lau (a.k.a. Meta4) has broadened his turf from one borough to the world by giving performances that demand audiences’ attention at first listen. His upcoming venture to Northeastern University is the first stop on this Alien MC’s rocket to stardom.

“I started hip-hop as a hobby,” he recalls, “but my music still ended up in circulation. People called and asked me if I could be on tracks with them. It has become a release, a therapy, and a chance to hold on to what I love to do.” This hobby has been present in Meta4’s life from some of his earliest experiences, pointing to a predisposition for his chosen art.

“The ultimate highlight of my entire life was whenever I first rhymed in public. I was in a circle with other older kids who were used to rhyming, and they told me to throw something down. They turned the music off and said, ‘You killed it!’ They showed me a lotta love, and it was just a great moment.”

Meta4 cites Eminem, Papoose, and other mainstream MCs as influences whose brash content and complex flow are similar to his own. He recognizes the most fascinating aspect of his art: “It’s a gateway for absolutely anything I want. It’s a permanent outlet that I think you can only find in hip-hop.”

His new single Metamorphosis embodies this same fluid sense of catharsis; the track spares no insult and its pessimistic rhymes are knit to a jaw-dropping meter. Relentless cynicism wrapped in sarcasm becomes a theme throughout Meta4’s work, and affords raw exposure of the young rapper’s talent.

Lau remarks, “Hip-hop has become the love of my life and my salvation at the end of the day.”