Review: "Hear Me Paint" Album by CASH
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CASH is an up and coming hip-hop artist out of Atlanta, who released his 14 track album “Hear Me Paint” in an attempt to show his love for both art and music, and also to bridge the perceived gap between the two.
While listening to indie artists, I typically attempt to compare their sound to a mainstream act. In the case of CASH, it is extremely difficult, and that’s a good thing. The closest I could come to was a mixture of Pusha T and Kanye, but to be completely honest, CASH has a very unique sound and voice.
From the very beginning of the project I could tell that this was an artist I would enjoy. I personally love conscious/lyrical rap with a message. I like when music evokes emotion out of the listener. CASH’s entire project does this. He also shows that he can rap with a myriad of cadences and that he cares a lot about lyricism.
This project is very versatile which is excellent since CASH is attempting to show how art and music are one and the same. Art takes on all different forms. This project has rapity songs, singy songs, upbeat songs, slow jams and more. Each track creates its own unique mood. Typically artists try to make a lot of the songs on a project sound similar, but in this instance, making so many unique sounding songs adds to the overall concept.
I feel that gifted rappers are able to almost make their lyrics jump off of the page (or out of the headphones) to form vivid images and stories. CASH does this well as he shows that he’s an excellent story-teller. The song “Let Me Down” is a perfect example of this. I can personally visualize every word his spits.
I have to give props to whatever producers worked on this project. I’m not sure if CASH did all of his own production or if he had any help, but whatever the case, all of it is amazing. In today's rap culture where production is lazy and repetitive, hearing real instruments and dope old-school drums brings a smile to my face.
My personal favorite tracks are “Mahogany”, “I’ll Be Damned” and “Church”. “Mahogany” is a great song that edifies beautiful black queens and even names some of them. “I’ll Be Damned” has a catchy hook and vibe that caused the song to get stuck in my head. “Church” has nice organ/churchy production that I’m extremely fond of.
CASH is a dope, well-rounded artist who put together an amazing album with a great concept and message. The album just simply sounds good. I can’t wait to see what he cooks up in the coming years.