• Artist: Raz Simone
• Track: Don't Shine
• Producer: Rex Kudo, Idan "Proper," Raz Simone
• Album: Cognitive Dissonance: Part One

According to Raz Simone's bio, he started writing poetry in his early childhood, and the inspiration to become an emcee came only later, when he tried reciting his words over movie scores. That cinematic sensibility is clearly present on Don't Shine, the latest single off the Seattle representative's next street album. The orchestral percussion and atmospheric synths running through the record's beat (created by the artist in conjunction with Rex Kudo and Idan “Proper”) would sound right at home in the trailer for an epic drama, and Simone's verses brim with painfully vivid imagery (“Libyan landmines blow the knees off kids' feet.”). He even sets down the mic to co-direct the official visuals with Jon Holman. For Don't Shine and much more, check out Raz Simone's Cognitive Dissonance: Part One street album, set to drop digitally at a yet-undetermined date in February.