Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Built like a retro slow jam but boasting some pretty slick melodic rapping straight out of the modern age in hip-hop, “HOPE I.S.H.” isn’t just a hot single for Angelo B and Zeus Rebel Waters – it’s one of the first exciting hybrid listens I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this April. Instead of just flirting with R&B undertones with the instrumental framework of this song, Angelo B is actually crooning and integrating a hip-hop aesthetic with his delivery that a lot of his contemporaries have failed to capture with any legitimacy. This is something fans of R&B and rap are going to appreciate, and that’s becoming less common nowadays.
Zeus Rebel Waters and Angelo B have a lot of chemistry, and I think their artistic styles do a lot to complement one another when it matters in “HOPE I.S.H.”
Where some might have felt intimidated in sharing the spotlight with a player as detail-oriented as the former is, Angelo B embraces the collaborative spirit here excellently, which allows for his charisma to remain the dominant force to be reckoned with even once the pinch of the hook in the chorus has concluded.
This spring has been bringing forth some very inspirational tunes, and for my taste, “HOPE I.S.H” is a killer pick that satisfies R&B cravings and hip-hop hankerings the same. Equal parts of both genres, this is a song that made me want to take what Angelo B is up to in the studio a little more seriously, and although he hasn’t attracted a lot of mainstream attention with his music thus far, I think he’s poised to do as much as long as he sticks with the collaborative template he’s using in “HOPE I.S.H.” He and Waters hit this piece of the park, and I want to hear what he can do with other players as well.
Jamie Morse
