Review: "Scorched" Album by Z. Smith
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Nashville based rap artist Z. Smith embraces the darkness with the stark reality of his recently released “Scorched” album. A deft storyteller, these narratives come from a life lived to the fullest. Such tremendous heartache alongside a sense of defiance ties the whole of the journey together. Vivid detail about how Z. Smith came up intermingles with the hard-edged arrangements. Distorted samples, intense bass, it all forms a picture of what needs to be overcome in order to move forward. Thus, while there is a heaviness to his delivery there is also an element of hope that helps to balance it out somewhat.
Z. Smith’s focus on the struggles of the day to day draws from Kendrick Lamar’s highly personal vision. Like him, Z. Smith too has had a long trip to arrive. By going for this tact, the whole of the “Scorched” album garners a brooding quality. Going beyond Lamar’s influence is the slow but steady delivery that comes to define the pieces. Worth taking in as a singular whole, every track works as a chapter in an ever-growing story, one rich with intricate detail.
After the short “Intro” things begin in earnest with “Hades”. Nimble beats cascade onto each other in a way that feels majestic. Eerie atmospherics come through on the tense “Black Pen”, feat. Ryan Oakes. Spit like fire, “Premonition” works as a brutalist track, one that becomes ever more cryptic. The hybrid quality of “Press Play”, feat. Jack DeCraene, serves as the highlight of the album. Dance and hip-hop merge into one. Dollops of distortion with a rock flair anchors “Cut the Lights!”. Truly unhinged is the feral “Manson. Dahmer. Bundy.”.
Going for a gentler, more reflective stance is “Am I Crazy?” feat. Knox Morris and Kelsey Tegenkamp. Usage of choir samples adds to the dramatic of “Split” while Z. Smith lets loose on the mic. Going for the right amount of hustle is the powerful “Pretty Boy Floyd”. “Charlie Hustle”, feat. Keagen Gulley, ends things on a high note, neatly summarizing all that came before it.
The “Scorched” album shows off Z. Smith’s fiery flows in speaking truth to power, showing the inequality and suffering that people toil under.