Terrace Martin and Kenyon Dixon know find out how to set a mellowed-out temper, however “WeMaj” steps in as hip hop with soul and jazz sewn deep within the seams. Terrace will get issues shifting from the leap: thick, body-shaking kicks and rimshots that snap in a gap drum fill, all respiration that West Coast jazz air. The inspiration is dwell drums that bump, watery celeste keys shining over a effervescent bassline, and funky sax traces drifting on the edges. All of it rides out like a late-night session at Martin’s beloved Crenshaw-repping studio: hermetic and unforced.
Kenyon’s verse slides in gentle, his tone all singer’s heat however with that simple emcee swagger. He floats someplace between a crooning baritone and slick speaking in your ear. His metaphors pull from jazz and R&B, weaving slick wordplay with simply sufficient tease. Each line lands as cool as a West Coast breeze, by no means forcing the groove—simply driving it.
Then Rapsody pops up and the power pivots only a bit. She brings sly music concept flips, threading intelligent bars via the adjustments and including some teasing sunniness to the combination. Her wordplay is – as anticipated – sharp. However it’s additionally flirty and playful in a “grown lady biz” form of method. She matches Terrace’s laid-back swing with simply sufficient sunny allure, so the monitor stays fascinating to the tip.
That is a type of connections that appears like three buddies, catching a groove, and letting the magic do what it does.