Softness

Today I did a bit of exploring on an artist my friend had intro-ed me to a few nights ago. By intro I mean that he posted a track of hers on my wall and I've been thrashing this track non stop on my iphone everywhere and anywhere I can (within reason lol).

Her name is Tia London, from Chicago and she is quite possibly the hardest artist to locate any info on.

Google produced jack all about her but reflecting back that's ironically a good thing because that makes those curious about her (like myself) more intrigued about her and her music - and that's what music should be all about right? The music itself, not so much the person behind it.

Anyway I'm not sure what it is about her but I'm hooked. I think it's because there's alot of facets of her music and style that remind me of another artist I really liked from a few years ago. When I first heard Drake's music back in 2009-2010 I was struck by his introspective lyrics and the moodiness of his music which mixed rapping and singing in equal measure which produced some beautiful dreamscape like tracks like Shut It Down. I loved that it was an eloquent mix of candidness and grandeur but more importantly I liked its softness. In an era where rap and r'n'b artists are concerned with delivering their beats and lyrics with brashness and aggression I liked the fact that Drake wasn't afraid to be the anecdote with his softness. Peppered with unexpected drums, guitar bursts and keyboard spikes, it's the kind of music you can chill out to after a crazy long day at work and the songs you loved years ago are still the ones you cruise along to even now.

That's how I instantly felt when I heard the first few tracks on Tia London's EP Love Junkie.

Her beats are simple and commercially catchy in the conventional sense but I like that she's subtle and doesn't try to match it with the outrageousness of the Rihannas and Nicki Minajs out there. I think there's depth to be found in whats understated and the mood created track by track and I guess that's why I'm currently obsessed with milking her EP dry at the moment haha. There's also a graceful ease in the way she can break into rap and then sing with a sincerity and swagger that not many female artists these days possess.

Not only that but the production of the EP itself is outstanding with moods and tones changing effortlessly from track to track. This is by no means a reflection of her inconsistency but shows her ability to be flirtatious and stepping it out to the guys out there in tracks like Go! and changing gears to show moroseness and self reflection in tracks like Love Rollercoaster:

I Got It - Mikkey Halsted featuring Tia London.

It's funny. I think that if you fully analysed different aspects of her music separately like her lyrics or her hooks you'd find there is nothing overly remarkable about what she's doing. However it's the combination of these elements in the form of the completed tracks that makes she someone worth looking out for.