February 25, 2018 — Unless you’ve recently resided beneath a rock, you’ve likely heard about if not already seen the blockbuster new superhero film, Black Panther, starring Chad Bosemen, Michael Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o, among other fine actors. You likely also have heard some of the singles from the movie’s soundtrack, executive produced by Kendrick Lamar and featuring a Who’s Who of guest appearances from the hip hop and alt R&B worlds, including SZA, the Wknd, and Travis Scott. The film and its soundtrack are, rightly so, commanding a lot of media attention given the noteworthy players involved.
February 25, 2018 — Unless you’ve recently resided beneath a rock, you’ve likely heard about if not already seen the blockbuster new superhero film, Black Panther, starring Chad Bosemen, Michael Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o, among other fine actors. You likely also have heard some of the singles from the movie’s soundtrack, executive produced by Kendrick Lamar and featuring a Who’s Who of guest appearances from the hip hop and alt R&B worlds, including SZA, the Wknd, and Travis Scott. The film and its soundtrack are, rightly so, commanding a lot of media attention given the noteworthy players involved.
But with due respect to all of those gifted marquee artists, the “scene stealer” on the soundtrack is the less well-known, Sacramento-based rapper Mozzy, who teams with South African vocalist Sjava and rapper Reason to deliver the definitive album track, “Seasons.” All too often in popular music, the appearance of a guest vocalist on a hip hop track, or a rapper on an R&B track, seems like an afterthought by the producer designed solely to enhance cross-over appeal. Here, however, the melding of Sjava’s soulful singing with the flow of Mozzy’s urgent, poetic verse is seamless, so much so that you can’t imagine this track without either. Enjoy.
By Robb Patryk