Kenny Mason is Atlanta’s newest rising star. The album following his 2019 smash “Hit” finally arrived and Mason is ready to take over the music world. Angelic Hoodrat arrived following the release of the music video for the title track of this album. On this project, Mason balances his influences from Atlanta’s hip-hop roots to punk influenced guitar loops and singing.
Kenny Mason has a voice made for music. He falls in line with artists who use their vocals as an instrument, manipulating it to portray any emotion he may be feeling. Songs like the album opener “Firestarter” shows Mason’s ability to create dark and honest rap records, “When dollars turn into cents/ Ain’t no guarding my innocence”. Mason is able to take his reality and craft intricate verses that show the grittiness of where he is from. You also have songs like “Pretty Thoughts” where Mason is singing for a good majority of the record. Over fuzzy guitar loops, the artist is able to create rock-influenced records with great melodies.
Kenny Mason is creating memorable songwriting moments on his newest project as well. A track like “Anti-Gravity” touches on everything that is special about Angelic Hoodrat. Mason writes a beautiful song about feeling held back while showing off his ability to create great punk records. “Mama told me/ Don’t be worried” is a main refrain from this track that Mason croons over hard drums, a relatable lyric and just one of the reasons this song is a highlight of the album. Mason’s songwriting goes beyond great punk records though, the outro of this project “Hit” sounds like it should be topping the Billboard charts already. This track also acted as the first single for this project, and rightfully so. Kenny Mason creates a catchy hook over a fun beat and the verses are spit viciously. A recipe for what should be a summer hit.
All over Angelic Hoodrat, Mason proves he is able to pick exceptional instrumentals that he sounds great over. Track 5, “Chevron” is a great example of this, a chopped up soul sample and deep 808’s match up with Mason’s witty lines, “Got more dollars than followers”. The first half of “Angels Calling // My Dad” has strong drums over a whining guitar chord and some of the more impressive rapping on this album. The next song in the tracklist, “Once Again” has a great piano melody to it as well, adding to the repertoire of instruments Kenny Mason is able to sound great over.
Kenny Mason’s Angelic Hoodrat is a diverse project that shows the many talents of a young artist ready to take the world by storm. From beat selection, songwriting and vocals, Mason hits big time on all of these elements, while still leaving room for the listener to wonder where the Atlanta native is going to end up next.
Check out the full project on your local streaming service.
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