Richmond-born, Chicago-based rapper McKinley Dixon’s new album, Magic, Alive!  is released via City Slang.  Magic, Alive! Began life when Dixon received an unexpected email from English producer Sam Yamaha. Dixon’s early beats had inspired Yamaha’s own nascent work, and he wanted Dixon to listen. Before long, Dixon rendezvoused with him in London, digging through his archive to find a wealth of beats that resonated  with his own approach and with the burgeoning concept for Magic, Alive! In July 2024, Dixon returned to his native Richmond, Virginia, with a tranche of sounds from Sam Yamaha and Koff, with whom he’d worked before.  Alongside a cavalcade of guests and friends, from the mighty singer Anji mile and imaginative Alabama emcee Pink Siifuto trombonist Reggie Pace and harpist Eli Owens, Dixon split these beats wide open, adding hooks and horn lines and guest spots. He strung several songs together, too, so that Magic, Alive! moves like a dream or, at the very least, an alternate reality where new rules reign.