Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
In pop music, and especially hip-hop, you’ve got to be a little more daring than the other folks to stand out in the crowd. With the destruction of traditional scenes and the regional professional politics that came with them, the internationalization of cloud rap and trap was inevitable, but no one could have predicted it producing the kind of heat it has been in the last couple of years. Boston’s own Echezona has had my attention lately, and if you take a look at the video for his new single “TMH” I think you’re going to understand why.
Right off the bat, Echezona is smashing us in the face with these lyrics and refusing to hold back from the hook even when it means giving the rhythm a little more oomph than he has to. Indulgence is okay when it winds up producing the kind of chills factor we can get out of “TMH” even after a few repeat listens, and when taking into account the lack of excess-employing rappers having a real impact on what the game is doing right now, his is a style you can’t afford to ignore if you like choice hip-hop.
The melodicism in “TMH” is remarkably minimal for the sort of arrangement that this player went with at the end of the day, and I get the feeling that while Echezona doesn’t mind having a moderate backdrop to work with, he could do just as well in an open freestyle acapella without anything or anyone backing him up in the studio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktXyZslSoBc
He’s got the street hustle fluidity in this single that instantly makes you wonder what he sounds like when he’s playing live and getting as wild as the stage can withstand, and soon, I’d like to see what he can do in that situation for myself.
Nothing beats a well-arranged bass in a piece as top-heavy as “TMH” is, and while I’ve always been biased toward fat basslines in crossovers, Echezona is one of the only rappers I’ve listened to in 2023 who can do it the right way and sound more humble in doing so than anyone else probably would have. There’s not much I don’t like about his approach to songcraft, and I do like to think of myself who is rather picky about hip-hop (which is pretty easy to do with the ocean of talent pouring onto both sides of the dial these days).
It truly is a great time to love good hip-hop, and if you haven’t already been listening to the work that Echezona has been recording for the last couple of years, this sophomore effort should be just enough to swing you into his growing camp of fans and supporters. The two coastlines need more literate artists like this one representing at all levels of the industry, and through the success he could find with “TMH,” I’m pretty confident Echezona is going to do right by the people – and the scene – that helped him get this far.
David Lee Marshall
