Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have released their first single as the new duo Silk Sonic titled “Leave The Door Open”. The seed for this collaboration was planted when both artists were tourmates as Paak opened up for Mars on the European Leg of his “24K Magic” tour. The project also features Parliament-Funkadelic icon Bootsy Collins who Bruno Mars states named the duo. The full album “An Evening With Silk Sonic” is due to be released later this year.
The track “Leave The Door Open” sees Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak detail the story of a man who is attempting to convince a female suitor to join him for a night of pleasantries. The song features an array of preconditions that are assumed to require validating to convince said woman to change her mind and come over. Bruno Mars’ stating of the following words “I'ma leave the door open / (I'ma leave the door open) / I'ma leave the door open, girl / (I'ma leave the door open, hopin')” within the chorus perfectly encapsulates the wishful sentiments present with the song.
Words can not do the instrumentation enough justice as this track features 70s Soul inspired production that encompasses a beautiful blend of a steady drum pattern , smooth piano melodies and groove infused guitar riffs. The implementation of the Glockenspiel, tambourines, conga and backing vocals do nothing but cement the sonic excellence achieved within this track.
Drake, Rick Ross - Lemon Pepper Freestyle
Drake and Rick Ross continue their wildly successful collaborative journey by with the track “Lemon Pepper Freestyle”, their joint efforts have produced “Stay Schemin” , “Aston Martin Music” and “Diced Pineapples” to name a few and this track looks to be following the same trajectory of these previous records. “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” features on a 3 track project from Drake titled “Scary Hours” which serves as a prelude to his highly anticipated album “Certified Lover Boy” which is scheduled to be released later this year.
The track itself sees Drake and Rick Ross trade verses about a multitude of topics ranging from family and friends to pseudo relationships and wealth. The following words “Yeah, dropped him/ off at school, big day for my lil' man / Recess hits, daddy prolly made another / School bell rings and I'm out there to get him again” highlight a few of these themes as Drake cleanly meshes discourse on his wealth with running commentary on his son’s life.
The song features an underlying loop sampled from Quadron’s track “Pressure” and this outtake is finely intersped with a harp melody. Spacy synths, trap hi hats and a soft bass feature also to add the final touches to a track that wouldn’t feel far removed from Drake’s previous work on the album “Views” which heavily utilised nostalgic instrumentation.
Br3nya - Homecoming Freestyle
In anticipation of Ghana's 64th Independence Day on March 6, rapper Br3nya released the song “Homecoming Freestyle” which can be seen to be an ode to her multifaceted upbringing. The song includes a mix of Twi and English as Brn3ya depicts the Ghanaian attributes that have shaped her and she neatly binds this with words that showcase the bravado and confidence that have become an almost signature feature of her lyricism.
The melody moves to sample one of Ghana's most beloved tracks “Otoolege” by Ofori Amoposah ; this sample adds a Hiplife undertone to a British Hip-Hop instrumental as a hi hat pattern, subtle percussion and up tempo piano melodies are seamlessly fused together with Ofori Amoposah’s backing vocals.
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