Protoje ft Popcaan Like Royalty Review

Protoje ft Popcaan – Like Royalty – Review

Protoje ft Popcaan: Like Royalty Single Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

To complete the trio of ‘In.Digg’s’ releases in 2020, Revival movement legend Protoje is dropping a new album shortly. So, to give us a teaser of what’s to come he’s teamed up with Popcaan – and the result is royally sumptuous.

Protoje ft Popcaan Like Royalty, released via In.Digg.Nation Collective and RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment, sees the incomparable talents of composers and producers Winta James and Ziah, with Protoje and Popcaan bringing the lyrical prowess to proceedings. It builds on the precedent that label mates Lila Iké and Sevana have set – in terms of taking the Revival musical mantra and moving it forwards and to the side.

The track combines elements of Roots, Hip Hop and Soul to create a vibrant sound that manages to transcend each genre to create a unique vibe. A rounded, low-passed bass works off a drop-beat Roots rhythm. Mildly syncopated it uses a more modern melodic pattern, working around the diatonic scale (as opposed to pre-Rocksteady tracks where the root triad was used) with a persistent riff that is the basis for Like Royalty’s momentum.

Drums are ambiguous in their feel. There’s the Roots’ snare crash on the two and four. Closed hi-hats run a double time rhythm continuously across the track. But the kick is interesting, striking most beats, while hitting the final semiquaver’s ‘and’ after the two before striking the three directly on the second bar of its phrase. It’s all very Hip Hop – incessant and unsettling.

Ian “Beezy” Coleman’s guitars are cleverly arranged across several lines – and gorgeously executed. One works around a fairly fixed rhythmic pattern – strumming chords across a dotted quaver/semiquaver/crotchet/double quaver rhythm which is all a bit Soul. Again, this provides a sense of fluidity to the track. Then, another line serves two purposes. It has a fixed motif across the chorus, offering a whining countermelody to the main one, and then breaks out into a lower register riff at points during the verses. The timbre of Beezy’s playing is very light – nearer the bridge with the mid and treble on the amp up higher to create that breezy, almost tropical sound. Overall, there’s more than a nod to Soul with the guitars’ construction and Beezy’s performance.

An occasional rasping, high-passed synth horn effect (which almost sounds like a theremin) finishes off the arrangement, with a fleeting response to Protoje and Popcaan’s vocal call. Also, of note is Chris Gehringer’s mastering – as he’s taken the concept through to its final phase, with the emphasis being in the lower kHz across the track while letting the higher register instruments still stand out. As a sum of its musical parts, Like Royalty is unfussy but effective: brooding, haunting and stark – allowing the two artists to bounce off it, and each other, perfectly.

There’s something well-placed when you juxtapose Protoje’s vocal with Popcaan’s. The former is his usual, effortless self – giving a punctuated performance across intricate rhythms but feeling like he barely stops for breath (or needs to). Popcaan delivers his vocal in a slightly higher register and it complements Protoje’s well. He displays a pleasing, crystal-clear quality of tone and enunciation throughout and the mix of singjay and straight vocal is impressive. Lyrically, the duo has produced something quite humble but thought-provoking, too – as they muse on a time when life gave them nothing, but faith and quiet self-confidence prevailed. It’s also a positive message, overall, that you can achieve whatever you want in life, despite all the odds.

Protoje ft Popcaan Like Royalty is a quality track and is set for release on all streaming platforms on the 6th August 2020. Smartly and sympathetically composed from James and Ziah, it fits with the saying ‘less is more’ – as the pair have delivered an unpretentious yet effective musical experience. Protoje and Popcaan’s lyrics and performances fit this perfectly, and the whole thing is pensive yet positive. Well-juxtaposed themes across classy music. The album’s going to be interesting.

Protoje ft Popcaan Like Royalty review by Mr Topple (5th August 2020).

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