Memphis musician Tarrance Brown a.k.a. “Archangel” finds inspiration all over the place, be it a moment with Marvin Gaye or a “construction worker with a jackhammer.”
Archangel’s latest release is the Exclusive Edition mix tape from his series M.U.S.I.C. — a nifty acronym for “Man U Saw It Comin.”
“Dumb” is a dance/hip-hop track with a distorted, kind of chopped, tempo. There’s mention of an “overdose on Viagra,” which sounds like a fun time to me.
I-Tunes
https://itunes.apple.com/album/hallelujah-m.u.s.i.c.-exclusive/id672023441
“Ball” starts out a bit more distant-sounding, almost dreamlike. However, a dominating rap voice soon arrives. The background synthesizer launches into a fast tempo, but the rap retains its rather methodical pace. This provides for an interesting effect. Speaking of effects, a wild cocktail of them is applied to the vocals in the track’s final part. It’s like the rap is being mainlined into my ear drum.
In the track “Hustle,” the speaker — a “product of the struggle” — seems hell-bent on ‘gettin his’ by any means necessary.
“I Ride” has something of an ominous tone.
CD Hallelujah M.U.S.I.C. (EXCLUSIVE EDITION)
http://indy.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/20571/archangel-hallelujah-music.html
“True Statement” sounds very confident and self-satisfied.
Regarding the track “Menopause,” it never occurred to be that the menstrual cycle could be fodder for hip hop, but maybe I don’t know much about either. It’s a pretty wild track, with a good helping of graphic lyrical imagery. Both vocal and electronic sounds are zooming in and out from every which direction.
“Dumb”:
http://youtu.be/UMM85YI_weM
“Rhythm” is different. First of all, it’s jazzy. Secondly, the vocals come on board with an exotic flair. As Archangel chants, “I gotta keep ‘em in rhythm,” I feel like some witch doctor is fixin’ to hypnotize me. Go right ahead, pal: for this track is my personal favorite. It feels like I’m on a totally different frequency; the world’s passing me by, and I couldn’t give the slightest toss.
The Exclusive Edition mix tape will be out any moment on iTunes. Whet your Archangel appetite at:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/street-symphony/id387576993
Archangel is also well established in the video realm. Witness for yourself at:
http://www.vevo.com/watch/archangel/i-ride/QMGR31300689
Or: http://www.youtube.com/ArchangelVEVO
Ray Cavanaugh – owleyesgatsby@yahoo.com
