Symphonic: “RearView (feat. Zé)” – a marvel of digital-age hip hop

Denver based rapper, Symphonic, who hails from Detroit, MI is breaking down barriers and pushing boundaries as far as he can. Now doing that musically, would be a fairly easy task, with respect to what Symphonic is trying to accomplish, within a genre generally plagued by heavy-handed bigotry. Symphonic, is openly declared gay rapper who says that: “The only goal I have is to break down any barrier and defy any stereotype one may have about what a gay rapper should “look like” or “be”. This is my beginning and I’m honored to share my craft with the world.”

It sounds hallucinating to think that in 2017, one would still need to declare his or her sexuality, to help fight ignorance and inspire others to rise above narrow-minded discrimination. But such is the case, especially as Hip hop carries the stigma of still being one of the genres that more than any other seems to ridicule the role of women and homosexuality in society.

It is tough enough for any underground artist to musically make an impression in this over-saturated marketplace, adding the ‘gay’ label is almost like committing artistic suicide, as it is almost certain that you will be ostracized and discriminated against.

So it takes an immense amount of courage to come out in the open, for any artist. However if you have your mindset in the right place and your goals clearly laid out, as Symphonic has, then anything is possible.

Just for the record, sexually, I adore threesomes and anything voyeuristic; I hope my peers and colleagues don’t think that impairs my reviewing qualities!  Seriously folks, what interests me and what should interest you is what Symphonic brings to the table, both musically and lyrically.

On his track “RearView (feat. Zé)”, which was written by D. Taylor, Z. Taylor & J. Cormier, and produced by XaviorJordan. The track is by turns oblique, smolderingly direct, confrontational, witty, melodic and gorgeous: a vertiginous marvel of digital-age hip hop. Symphonic wraps his metered flow in an enchantingly woozy delivery and pivots between the spaces of the rhythmic beat at will.

On “RearView (feat. Zé)” the mood on oscillates from light to dark, exultant to somber, yet achieving a sense of sonic sweep that builds to its climax in the chorus. The beat sounds abstractly minimal, but reveals itself to be lush and atmospheric by the time the track’s duration has come to an end.

There’s something radical about that, and it affirms Symphonic’s greatest strength: He refuses to be pinned down in any one angle of your mind.

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