Manny Sanchez is a name I just became acquainted with a couple of months or so ago when EGOVERT decided to team up with Tay Money and Manny for their song “Type Shit!”. When I heard that song, I got an incredible sense of Manny’s personality and his ability to complement some other, somewhat wilder artists on the same song. That’s why, when my homie hit me up and put me onto his latest release, I knew I had no choice but to listen up.
On this record which is called “Nikes”, Manny takes a moment to create an ode and almost a love song of sorts to one of his favorite shoes of all time, the Nike Cortez. Being a sneakerhead myself, I definitely understand and respect the dedication and admiration he has for this specific model because it’s not only an iconic shoe, but it plays a huge role in certain cultures across the country, making it an absolute staple in any legitimate sneaker collection. Now that I’m done geeking out about shoes for the moment, Manny teamed up with producer Dustin Cavazos, a name I’m familiar with because of his copious amounts of work with EGOVERT in the past, as well as UxTxM to bring the instrumental to life, and I think the results absolutely speak for themselves.
The production duo ends up incorporating bright, airy, dream-like strums that almost sound somewhat warm as if you’re listening to them on a record player, and these sounds are combined with chattering percussion and extremely pungent 808s that just all seem to work so harmoniously together. As he goes in for his hook, it seems as if there are a few layers of vocals that bring some complexity to the serene offering, and although his voice becomes more singular getting into the verse, his message continues to praise the iconic silhouette in a very relaxed, nonchalant fashion.
While the initial vibe might sound like a love song dedicated to a significant other, Manny clearly has a soft spot in his heart for these shoes and I don’t blame him. Beyond this message, I always enjoy hearing him incorporate a mixture of English and Spanish lyrics, intermingling the two languages together to highlight his knowledge and culture, bringing that into Hip-Hop more than many other Latino artists typically do. While he might not demonstrate any insane cadences or off-the-wall charisma, he got straight to the point with this record and I don’t think it could have turned out any better. Make sure you get familiar with Manny Sanchez because I’m positive this year is going to be huge for him, so make it a point to tune into his most recent song “Nikes” as soon as possible.