For this Missed Monday, I visit an artist that I looked up to for a while’s first release in a long while. Sotu the Traveller teamed up with producer duo Sense for the Rise & Shine EP.
"Present." Esperanzah (Numaads) gives this song a retro 90s smooth hip hop feeling. The delay and reverb are cheesy to the point of perfection. The synth at 2:30 sounds like it's coming straight out of "The Next Episode" by Snoop and Dre. The whole song has a sultry, satin finish remix vibe going for it.
"More of Me." This track has Ninthe on it and her voice is more of the smooth and less of the hip or hop. Soft and breathy, her voice contrasts nicely with the vinyl crackle that Sense and Sotu the Traveller have running throughout. Just like the last song, there is a break in the middle/near the end where it goes instrumental and I personally can really feel Sotu vibing on this ending.
"So Beautiful." Hicoup is like old school Andre 3000. Strong emphasis on the last syllable of each line, it creates a steady rhythm that adds complexity and makes a beat more interesting. He does this well and his efforts are bolstered by the fact that he's riding on top of an already sick beat.
"Doubt." This one has no special guest vocals minus Sense's obligatory vocal sample in the beginning. It gets pretty grimey at times and it has a sort of haunted carnival feeling going on too.
That wraps up the album. The deluxe version has instrumental version of the first three tracks and it actually helps to let one focus on just the music which definitely stands alone very well. The beats are more accentuated and clear when there is no secondary rhythm due to the vocals. I can't wait for another Sotu the Traveller album/EP, but this will tide me over until then.
