After spending his adolescence building up a street buzz under the name, Young Savage, Philadelphia rapper Shawn Smith reclaimed his own name for his autobiographical 2017 debut, Sink or Swim: A Shawn Smith Story.

Once known for voracious freestyles and quippy punchlines, Smith’s latest chapter brims with big-picture storytelling and astute social commentary. “I figure I can be a spokesperson because they never gon’ be able to tell their own story,” he says of his Southwest Philly friends and family. “People being aware of that cycle [of poverty] could open their minds up,” he adds optimistically. And yet, there’s no preachiness in his perspective. Instead, Smith has figured out a careful balance in rapping about his upbringing: he’s equal parts sharp-tongued and warm-hearted.