In my personal opinion, music is the best when an artist actually uses personal experience or honest feelings to ideate a record. When a musician does this, I just think it provides a lot more authenticity and sincerity to a track, and even if they embellish some of their ideas for the sake of intrigue or interest, when the overarching theme is truthful, the music is just typically more gripping from my own experience.
One emcee who has been putting himself out there for his entire career is TheHxliday, a Baltimore-born talent who has created a very ominous and unique style of music that is broad enough to let him get experimental but not too extensive to the point where it is all over the map. Throughout his rise to fame, Hxliday has been the definition of versatile, proving that he can hang with the best rappers on any track, but he has also shown off his singing skills, crooning some of the most angelic and captivating notes that I could ever imagine.
Even though Hxliday has been pretty quiet throughout 2022, I know that he’s working on something special, so while I think last week’s hit “Devil in the Flesh” is just the beginning of something special, I am not going to look ahead until I sit with this one for quite a while. The Hitmaka and Prince Chrishan-produced jam begins with a more tranquil, acoustic guitar-forward instrumental that features a remarkable beat drop that sends some energetic rap elements into the mix. The emcee takes every change in stride, beginning with a pure collection of well-sung notes prior to quickening his cadence slightly as the cut picks up the pace next to him.
The message of the record is also very applicable to most listeners, discussing a love interest of his that broke his heart, causing him to see her in the darkest of lights while ending any sort of chances of reviving their romance or re-sparking their love for one another. You never know what to expect with TheHxliday’s mixture of genres, but the one constant throughout his discography (including “Devil in the Flesh”) is his truly great, honest music that will never fail to draw me in every single time!