This track starts right away with a hugely dark and heavy sounding beat and vocal melody. The vibe is massively dark and serious from the beginning, but things drop away shortly afterwards, so you can then really notice the lead vocal and the lyrics. The vocal effect is a little overwhelming at times, making some of the lines a little hard to distinguish, and also making it hard to relate to or build an image of the artist. Having said that though, a lot of times this kind of effect choice is fully intentional, to put out a particular image, for it to be a part of the brand or sound that they are aiming for. It seems to fit well within the track, the synths in the backdrop to the hook or chorus section really work well – they sound great, they add a lot of power, and they back up that vocal effect perfectly.
You get that riff caught in your mind actually, perhaps more-so than any of the vocal lines. It’s easy to hear this as having a secure place in underground music, everything is there to make it sound strong – really well produced, a strong riff, an unusual sounding vocal – slightly reminiscent of Ja Rule at times, but not musically, and perhaps it’s that effect which makes it lean this way. In terms of song writing, it does everything well – the huge hook sections opens the track with a bang, then things drop away, well structured, letting you pay close attention to that leading artist’s voice, and again building back up again at just the right times. It’s a huge track, in the depths of the weekend kind of track, full of strong moments, all connected together by the thread of a pretty excellent studio mix.The track has a lot going for it, making sure you know exactly who it is you’re hearing from the moment someone presses play.
By Rebecca Cullen
