Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Strands of a wild beat are already darting in and out of focus around the time we get into the guts of the new single “Whole 9.” An ice-cold vocal delivering chill-inducing verses cuts into the ridges between this aforementioned groove and, truth be told, it never stood a chance against someone like Tyte’s skills anyway.
There aren’t any bleeding basslines or saturated percussive pulsations that suggest more of a trip-hop influence than they do anything on the mainstream side of the dial. In “Whole 9,” the new single from collaborators Tyte, SpliffJit, and C Stunna, the filler that a lot of other rappers would depend on when making a track as ambitious as this one is has been left on the sidelines altogether.
There isn’t any place for the mundane conceptualisms of a more simplistic crowd here; “Whole 9” is an outright show of strength, and arguably just as much of a poetic showcase when it matters, which doesn’t allow for unneeded barriers between artist and audience. Putting as much stock into a groove as he does lyrical substance isn’t the only thing that sets him apart, but for my money, it could be what gives “Whole 9” more appeal this autumn than many of his rivals can compete with.
The chemistry between Tyte, SpliffJit, and C Stunna is evident right from the jump, and I think it’s clear that they don’t have to rely on a basic script to play off of each other’s cues in “Whole 9” at all. Their connection with the music is organic, and even though there’s a brutishness to the instrumentation from start to finish here, the streamlined vocals add a much-needed balance to the grander scheme of things that saves the song from typical indie shortcomings. The arrangement of the lyrics is quite tight, but it’s not too much for Tyte to handle; if I’m being honest, I think he’s playing it a little conservatively in this setting, which is part of the reason why I’m eager to hear him work with different styles of material and, in the long run, other artists of his caliber.
I didn’t know about Tyte before getting a copy of the music video for “Whole 9” for myself just recently, but if this is a good sample of who he is as an artist within the recording studio, I’ll be looking forward to hearing more from him sooner than later. Hip-hop is in what a lot of us in journalism would be so bold as to deem a modern renaissance at the moment, and with the continued efforts of players like this one, I think that renaissance has the potential to last throughout the ’20s. Tyte is shredding on an impressive level in this track, and provided he’s able to keep the same creative trajectory that he’s got at the moment, I think he’s going to score a lot of big points with critics and audiences that extend well beyond myself. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from here on out, and I would highly recommend that you do the same.
David Lee Marshall
