Levi Wilson
Sam Wise has long been a favourite of the UK scene, producing underground classics such as 'Lizzie', 'Rack Up' and 'DO OR DIE', along with his work with his renowned group 'House Of Pharaohs', leaving his fan base anticipating a solo project, which he delivers with his new genre bending album 'Sorry You Were Saying'.
From the get go, the album entices the listener with the great 'Velour Intro', produced by 808INK's Charmer; the beat is smooth and melodic which gives the perfect backdrop for Sam to rap and kick start the project. 'Towndown' follows after - a song destined to grace the clubs with its witty lyrics, thumping beat and super catchy hook. Sam gets a little more serious on his next track 'Birdseye View', where Sam Wise discusses issues that face a lot of young people such as self-doubt, mental health and surrounding yourself with the wrong crowd amongst other things, which goes hand in hand with Clonez's wonderful production. A chain of more great, varied tracks come after, featuring the super mellow 'Frustrated', 'Addicted Interlude' which showcases Sam's incredible versatility, as he raps and sings over the afro-inspired instrumental from Clonez and my personal favourite 'Follow The Leader', which features drill legend and Harlem Spartans member Blanco - not only does this track let the world know just how good Sam is, but also gives Blanco an opportunity to do something totally different from his usual music, which works perfectly, his drill flow over the super laid back trap beat is a match that we didn't know we needed. Another highlight off of this project is the great two-part track 'YEYE/9er', which features an A section which to me, which has cadences similar to the US rapper SahBabii. The B section produced by Honeywood6, who uses a wonderful blend of a spacey, evolving synth, over a thumping drum pattern and low-key 808, which come together with Sam to make something really special. Great production is a common theme on this project, with some of the most impressive beats to come out of the UK this year featured on this - none more so than the incredible beat on 'Issa Slave', which has so many motifs and counter melodies, which all come together beautifully to make a hard hitting, rich sound, which again, allow Sam to make rapping sound easy, with a mix of great bars, Sam Wise's usual on point flow and a catchy hook. Sam closes with the wonderful kadiata produced '7 Foot', which strays so far away sonically from the rest of the album, with an instrumental which resembles artists such as Odunsi The Engine and a really enticing hook from fellow South Londoner Miles From Kinshasa, which acts as the glue in the track, offering a wonderful break from Sam's gentle verses and closes out the project beautifully.
Listen below: