“a style to the performance that is captivating” Malcolm Favor with ‘Samantha De La Cruz’ (feat. The Seven Seas Of Freedom)

The laid back, jazz café style of the musical backdrop to this track sets a very easy going vibe that is perfect for winding down after a busy week. The music has a softness about it that fills the room and allows you to relax. The rap vocal that follows comes a little unexpectedly, it works to have a rap vocal there, and unusual is good, though the energy is perhaps a little full on alongside such an explicitly gentle musicality. The leading voice, however, has a great sound and a great flow; there’s a style to the performance that is captivating and the possibility of listening to further projects from the same artist would appeal for these reasons.

There’s a fairly interesting story to the lyrics in this case which helps take your mind away from the calming ambiance of the backdrop. There’s an undeniable honesty that is always worth appreciating, and that many people are likely to relate to. There is nothing massively notable about any of the lines, though the main hook stays with you as it’s repeated an appropriate amount of times to really make it sink in. The snippets of vocal melody work well for the most part. It would perhaps be effective to have more of the story underlined by the music, a little added creativity on the production side would provide a welcome break from the rap flow, but even having said that – the rap performance has a lot about it that works well, so the more times you listen to the track, the more you get a feel for the story and the energy of the performance. As mentioned, there’s a lot of intrigue about the leading vocal, it would appeal to hear more releases as there is definitely something unusual about this fusion of genres.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing.