Back in February, Jake Strain unveiled his latest single titled “Bars & Flows,” a stripped down effort that showcases the New York talent’s lyrical ability and penchant for vivid storytelling.

“I just bought my first crib off this rap s**t, just imagine, I was still trappin’, I was really stackin’, gotta get this cash in, in a timely fashion, yea, what happened? Blew 100K, yea, I’m a slot machine, so if you got the dream, now you in a magazine, only if you had a team, shout out to the label, now you know I’m able just to pay for some cable…”

“Bars & Flows” follows a series of well-received drops from the Swaggertown Records emcee, including “Reflection,” “Wanna Be Rappers,” and “When You Lose” with Yung Fate. Among the many cuts that fans can find is the hard-hitting “Shooting Stars,” a collaboration alongside Mario Canon, H Boogz, and Compton legend The Game. As expected, The Game delivers with a short-yet-effective verse that reminds listeners about his street background.

“I got the shotty wit’ me, AR from Arabia, cash money on me, feelin’ like Tune and Baby ‘nem, yea, run up on a car, your life goes, do my drive-bys like a menace, come through with lights on…”

In an interview with Dark Magazine, Strain opened up about how he creates music. “Currently, my creative process depends on where I am,” he said. “Sometimes, I play beats in my car and come up with hooks… a lot of the time, I freestyle hooks and loop them up if I’m in the studio. From there, I fill in the 12–16 bar verses as I go or send them off for features.”

Press play on a performance visual of “Bars & Flows,” which comes courtesy of Zues Lytning Multimedia. You can also enjoy the aforementioned “Shooting Stars” with The Game below.