Welcome to Heat Check, a biweekly music column where AJC culture reporter DeAsia Paige explores the temperature of Georgia’s buzzing, expansive music scene. The column will include music news, trends and any Georgia-related music that DeAsia is listening to. If you’re a Georgia artist and have music you want to be considered for this column — or if you just want to talk music — feel free to send an email to deasia.paige@ajc.com.
Kenny Mason does nothing without intention
Kenny Mason is keen on building a legacy. The 29-year-old Atlanta rapper is a natural competitor, which means he spends a lot of time refining his experimental sound to ensure no project sounds like the last. He wants to be the best.
Such was the case when creating his latest album, the highly anticipated “9.” The album, which dropped in March, is the last installment of a trilogy that began with the release of an EP “3″ last year. With features from fellow Atlanta rapper Baby Drill, Veeze and Toro y Moi, “9″ continues Mason’s knack for crafting a rock-inspired sound. The AJC caught up with the southwest Atlanta native during a break from his “Route 9″ tour, which ended May 3.
Q: “9″ was scheduled to be released last September. What made you delay the album?
A: It didn’t feel like an album yet. It didn’t feel like a complete body of work. It just felt like a list of songs we had. I just knew it wasn’t ready whereas the body work we got now just feels concise. It’s the best variety of songs now. I just wasn’t as confident in it before.
Q: Were there any last-minute additions to the album that you knew you had to include?
A: Yeah, I don’t even think we had “Chosen,” the second-to-last song, which was made in September. We wouldn’t have had that. I don’t think [the Baby Drill-assisted] “Easy Dub” was made at that time, either, so I just knew the album needed more.
Credit: RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment
Credit: RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment
Q: Is that how you typically approach your projects — constantly refining them even if that means delaying a release date?
A: Absolutely. I’m a perfectionist, and I’m going to keep refining and refining and challenging anything. Even if we have something good, I’m going to challenge it to be great just to make sure it’s cutting edge and putting me ahead of the competition and just ahead of myself. I’m challenging myself to go even further. A lot of times, I force myself to not overthink because I don’t want to take the magic out of a moment that just happened. But most of the time, I’m definitely pushing myself to be greater.
Q: How would you describe your sound?
A: I think I would describe it as alternative Atlanta because it’s very Atlanta-centric. When I say Atlanta, I don’t just mean trap because when I think of Atlanta, I think of creativity in a huge melting pot of different stuff. That’s what I am, I think I embody the melting pot that is the city, genre-wise and mood-wise. It’s less about genre and more about mood. Some my friends call [my sound] glock rock, and I think that explains it.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I am working on some new music. I’m always working on new music. I already got new songs that I made since the album came out. I should have another piece of music coming out soon. Pigeons & Planes just dropped a compilation album [on April 5], and I got a few songs on there.
Anycia is ‘Princess Pop That’
Credit: Jordon Wells
Credit: Jordon Wells
Anycia is Atlanta rap’s new it girl. After garnering viral momentum last summer for her single “BRB,” the 26-year-old artist has worked with the likes of Latto and Flo Milli. Her debut album, “Princess Pop That,” dropped April 26. The 14-track album features guest verses from Latto, Karrahbooo, Luh Tyler and Cash Cobain. It’s a stunning display of what Anycia does best: embracing her charming confidence an exuberant personality with a husky tone that shapes her rap delivery. In doing so, Anycia’s songs can also pose as affirmations or empowering group texts between you and your homegirls.
“If he say he had me, he a dummy. How you let me pass?,” she raps about a guy who clearly wasn’t worth a second of her time on “Type Beat.”
On May 3, Anycia had her first solo headlining show in her hometown. Held at the Loft, Anycia performed to a sold-out crowd with guest appearances from Veeze, Cash Cobain and Karrahbooo. She has an infectious stage presence that includes an intimate level of crowd engagement as if everyone in the audience is her friend. For Anycia, they are. She possesses an inviting energy that makes listening to her music and watching her show feel like you’re having a casual conversation with her at her home. “Princess Pop That” is only the beginning of Anycia’s rap reign.
An ode to Teddy Swims’ ‘Lose Control’
Credit: Aaron Marsh
Credit: Aaron Marsh
Before Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” completely shattered the charts, Teddy Swims’ hit song “Lose Control” reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. The ballad, which dropped last June, made its debut on the chart in August. Since then, it has spent 37 weeks on the chart — thanks, in part, to its TikTok virality. What makes the song so ubiquitous is Swims’ gritty vocal texture that becomes a platform for his aching croons about grieving a toxic relationship.
“Lose Control” has the pain and soul of an artist who’s deeply yearning for a love he knows isn’t healthy for him, because his capacious craving for companionship knows no end.
The song is a standout on the Conyers native’s debut album “I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy Pt. 1.” Last fall, I talked to Swims about the song ahead of his hometown shows.
“I was in this relationship, and the substance of our relationship were the substances that we were using and abusing at the time ― the alcohol. The lifestyle that we were living kind of made us very codependent on each other. We were staying out late. It made for these high highs in the relationship, and the lows were just extremely toxic and low. It was hard to get out that situation with the fear of losing someone.”
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