Angel Haze
“Song Cry”
Classick (Out now and self-released)
It’s amazing how quickly exhilaration turns to tedium in music, especially in hip-hop. In the last few years, I can rattle off a laundry list of rappers who looked set to stamp their unique voices on the industry — Wiz Khalifa, Nicki Minaj, Azealia Banks — but fell at the first hurdle, crushed by the weight of expectation and major label commercial expectations. I have a different feeling about Detroit-cum-NYC rapper Angel Haze. One of the most talented young MCs to rise this year, Haze’s new mixtape, Classick, highlights both her incredible lyrical talent and impeccable taste. Her brutal, unbelievably affecting remake of Eminem’s “Cleaning Out My Closet” has rightly taken much of the plaudits, but her remake of the Jay-Z classic also highlights her impeccable storytelling, loquacious flow, and mature voice. Hopefully, Universal will stay out of her way and let her do her thing on her highly-anticipated major label debut. If they do that, she’ll have an incredible career.
