Imade iN Truth

East London emcee Barney Artist definitely lives up to his name.  His relaxing compositions full of crisp percussion, shimmering melodies, and atmospheric samples never ceases to put me in a creative mood.  Barney’s free 12-track BAEP is an incredibly mature project for the rising emcee.  He stays consistent to his style with a quiet confidence that is mysterious and intriguing.  

Barney continues his string of well produced videos in “Turn Your Head Around”.  While most of his visuals feature stunning, yet simplistic scenes, Barney takes a more cinematic approach with his latest.  The Gerald Boye directed video follows Barney and his friends in what appears as a coming of age, day in the life short film.  The face shots and circular camera movements hint at deeper meaning, but for some reason, I haven’t discovered it.  Despite my questions, all I know is that the Alfa Mist produced song with gorgeous, breathy vocals by Emmavie is more than enough.  Twitter  Website  Youtube

If angels had beautiful afros destined to be on an Essence cover, they would sound like Leah Smith.  Leah has a tone so pure that she sings right through you.  Even with all of her Hip Hop features, including one with S.O. on Lows and Highs, she doesn’t overhoodify the songs with trite, swagtastic phrases.  Leah add an authentic, emotional depth to her collaborations by staying true to her identity.

Now to this mysterious “UK artist” named S.O.  First of all, I feel like doing a background check on this guy to see if he’s really from the U.K.  He doesn’t use Christian cuss words like “crockney” or even the d word (you betta repent Barney! lol).  S.O. also has a barely noticeable British accent compared to other Christian U.K. artists like Dwayne Tryumf or Jahaziel.  S.O. fits perfectly next to the “Amurrican” Christian emcees you already know but he offers something unique.  The beauty of his latest FREE album, So It Begins, is that he takes complex scriptural messages on topics from depression to dating and makes it simplistic enough for anyone to understand it. Lamp Mode Recordings, known as a backpacker label, has done an excellent job in diversifying their roster.  S.O. has classic underground beats with mainstream friendly lyrics, and that’s a good thing.  It goes without saying that (Nigerian cousin in my head) Seun Otukpe is destined for greatness.  Facebook   Twitter    Website

02 Lows and Highs feat. Leah Smith by NewH2O