Hollow Profit – Mortal Men (2025)
Brody Lee Burke, better known as Hollow Profit, makes a fearless and poignant statement with his new single ‘Mortal Men’, a track that doesn’t just speak, it resonates. With its stripped-back production and poetic depth, the song leans into vulnerability with striking honesty. Rather than riding the wave of trend-driven hip-hop, Hollow Profit uses ‘Mortal Men’ to slow things down and sit with the grief, the violence, and the longing that haunt both his community and the genre at large.
There’s a searing emotional current running through the track, a heat born not of anger but of reflection. Every line feels like a gut-punch, delivered with a calm that only deep sorrow can sharpen. Hollow Profit’s delivery is streetwise yet soul-heavy, filled with quiet conviction and a deliberate pace that commands attention. His flow doesn’t demand the spotlight; it earns it, line by line. The result is a track that feels like a handwritten letter to the fallen, carried with equal parts reverence and resistance.
The production, handled with care by Be Franky and Katsuro, gives Hollow Profit’s words room to breathe. The sparse arrangement, with its low-key percussion and atmospheric textures, isn’t about building hype; it’s about holding space. Silence becomes a tool here, a canvas for absence, for the weight of lives lost too soon. There are no unnecessary bells or whistles. Just space, and the stories that fill it.
You can hear the legacy of hip-hop’s finest echoing in the DNA of ‘Mortal Men’, Kendrick Lamar’s introspection, the philosophical grit of Wu-Tang, and the cryptic precision of MF DOOM. But Hollow Profit doesn’t sound like a copycat. He’s not posturing or paying homage for homage’s sake. He’s processing, mourning, and documenting. He references giants like 2Pac and Pop Smoke alongside personal losses, his cousin’s brother, his wife’s co-worker, stitching personal trauma into public tribute.
The most moving shift comes when Hollow Profit looks forward to his children, to future generations. It’s subtle but powerful, a thread of hope that pulls the whole piece together. ‘Mortal Men’ isn’t just an elegy; it’s a declaration. A quiet stand for something better. By confronting pain head-on and refusing to glamorise it, Hollow Profit turns grief into intention. The track doesn’t just mourn, it motivates. It’s a reminder that hip-hop can still serve as a vessel for change, and Hollow Profit is clearly steering in that direction.
Find out more about Hollow Profit on his X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
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