Tracks on Maverick's new hip-hop EP seem particularly timely
Following his Focused EP, a collection of separate singles released earlier this year, Soul Merchant has been an invested project from hip-hop emcee Arlo Maverick.
Released in its entirety on July 9, the package was originally conceived a handful of years ago with a couple of tracks, such as Tap It featuring a great, almost tribal bass beat, being penned as early as 2017.
“I didn't have the means to create what I wanted to create and so I felt the project shouldn't come out at that point in time,” he explains. “It eventually got to the point where I was holding on to something that I need not hold on to, and I can still create the project. It may not come out the way that I want it to, but it's still going to come out as a body of work that people can listen to and appreciate.”
What he had in mind must have been fantastical because as it stands, Soul Merchant is an excellent body of work demonstrating a mature experimentation and obvious consideration. Each of the seven songs has its own flavour and authentic character as he offers commentary on such things as armchair activism, the ills of social media and myopic decisions of youth.
Wait Your Turn, a self-esteem pump right out of the gates, sets the spectral tone for the album. Longtime collaborator Oozeela contributes along with Deuce Fantastick and Mouraine.
Maverick mixes up the synth sounds with some live instrumentation on a few tracks, including Solitaire featuring Good Information, a local experimental jazz band. And Hashtag is another track that's been smouldering away, more timely than it possibly could have been with a release a few years back.
“Within the last year, like 2020, us having to spend so much time isolated from people, I think that social media has ramped up,” he says. “Even just the way we consume, whether it be content or products, all that has been ramped up because of the fact the world had to adapt, and adapt very quickly in order for us to continue going on.”
An R&B slowdown carries Color Blind (editor's note: *Colour. I had to.) Talking about the tougher bumps in the road, it's well placed before the album gets wrapped up on a high note.
Award Tour is a fitting antithesis to Soul Merchant's entrance, one last fist pump celebrating our gifts and achievements — Maverick's journey traced from highschool haters and a fear of flying to globe-trotting fame claiming this song was written on a world-tour plane, promising endearingly, “I'm taking my fam.” Here, it's GASTON supporting with Oozeela and Mouraine.
Download the EP and check out his other releases on his Bandcamp page.
It may not come out the way that I want it to, but it's still going to come out as a body of work that people can listen to and appreciate.