Houston rapper Truth Francisco has spent the last few years building an incredible back catalog with numerous locked-and-loaded rap tracks about family, pain, loss, and triumphs. In 2024, he plans on solidifying his place as one of the best-emerging rappers in the US - and he isn’t shy about going after the crown. 

When Truth Francisco dropped his album, Truth Tells No Lies, on the first day of 2023, it landed like a sonic boom. The album was an excellent, cohesive achievement from an artist who had been showing promise for over a decade. The ten tracks on it were full of highs and lows; there were stories here about pain, loss, darkness, and domestic trauma and stories about triumph, riches, and standing firm in the face of everything that comes at you. 

Impeccably produced and backed by some carefully chosen feature artists, Truth Francisco himself held the album together. As a rap artist, Truth’s voice stood out for its unique, wizened quality; he presented himself as someone who could create complex lyrics and ideas and then wrap them into clear-sighted vocals laced with wisdom, experience, and strength.  

An album like TTNL had been a long time coming for the artist. His first recorded single, ‘Never Met No One’, dates to 2012. It was an excellent R&B-tinged rap track and still stands the test of time. But it’s probably fair to say that it took a decade of ups and downs for Truth to arrive at the peak of his powers finally. 

Truth’s personal story is exciting and vital in turning him into the artist he is today.

Born in Houston in 1992, Truth began dabbling in music from a young age. He knew early on that he had a talent for rapping and performing, but many of the themes he later started rapping about were shaped by several tragic incidents that occurred in his life.

Within the space of just a few years, Truth lost his father, his baby cousin Deja, and his older cousin - who was murdered mere hours after Truth last spoke to him. He recounted the effect of these events on him and his songs: "It made me start taking music more seriously and staying more focused than I have ever been.”

And Truth’s music does sound incredibly focused, setting him apart from many modern rappers. Whether he’s rapping seriously about a personal loss or casually about success, his lyrics feel real; they feel honest and truthful.  

So, what’s next for Truth? He’s still working towards his No. 1 goal - “To become the greatest hip-hop artist of all time” - and he’s still basking in how successful 2023 was for him. But he’s not slowing down either; his latest single ‘Dollar For Dollar’ was released at the end of last year - and he’s teased that a music video for this single is on the way in early 2024. 

Expect this artist to get better and bigger with each release. 

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