Laye Murashi is an underground indie rapper out of WS, but SoundCloud has a way of making the distance disappear. As does the relatable lyrics and smooth production on a number of Murashi's tracks, Be Great notwithstanding. If you're familiar with him, you'll notice he re-stylized his stage name to something a little more phonetic. But his name is likely one of the only sounds he's updated for this new chapter in his career.
If we ain't making greatness, what is it we making?
The opener for this EP lets us into the world of Laye: music, girls, and lots of work in between. Constant progression is his goal, and he's got no problem losing sleep to achieve it. The real trick is learning how to 'be great' in a world full of GOATs.
Link: Laye Murashi - Be Great (EP, 2017)
On the 'Cloud, artists live and die by 'word of mouth:' the last known marketing ploy that won't ruin a person's artistic integrity. Laye's increasing online presence is due to his connection with his fans as well as his consistently smooth and introspective music.
2017, but '16 was a helluva year.
While the United States is a rather tumultuous state, Laye uses this EP to reach past that and stays focused on his core message: staying true to yourself. Every song on this EP tells the same story:
Laye is hard at work pursuing the 'golden' standard of greatness in the music that he 'loves'. He has to ignore friends making promises with their 'fingers crossed.' He's 'tired' of shallow girls are always looking for the 'same thing' every day. And after all that, he's 'enduring' this constant barrage of people who tell him that his "dream will be a let down." But he's focused. So he can 'be great.'
I’ve been grinding for a long time.
Hard work should always pay off. It does on this project. The Laye everyone has gotten to know is here. He's clearly put a lot of passion into this one. The new mic is clear and the standout tracks 'Tired' and 'Fingers Crossed (Interlude)' were my favorites. However, the EP was far too short to need a skit. I'm not even sure what it's purpose was, but I digress.
Success is on the way, it’s well deserved.
To sum up, I like this EP. The smooth production matches well with Laye's voice and his new sound equipment shines on this project. But there's still a depth missing from these tracks: a 'wow' factor. Something so uniquely Laye that he hasn't stumbled across yet. 2K followers might disagree with me on the 'Cloud, but I think that getting to next level will require Laye to do something he's never done before. But I've got to admit the consistency is admirable.
"I done erased some people dealt with greater evil" Mixed & mastered by: https://soundcloud.com/spacedolphinproductions Prod by: https://soundcloud.com/grizzly-f-o-g
