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This post just fell into my lap across the river on the New Jersey side of the Henry Hudson river. I find it amazing that while traveling in a car listening to music one can experience feelings that would not normally happen while listening at home or while just chilling with friends. That was the case today, simply put, I had a moment and wanted to drop a line to share my thought process with those who peruse Sokah2Soca. I was traveling from New Jersey to New York. As we approached the George Washington Bridge the voice of Lyrikal came across the audio system. We were listening to Soca via Pandora. The traffic was heavy and as we crawled towards the toll my auditory processes focussed on the song. I knew the song and the familiar voice of Lyrikal. It started feeling good, the traffic stress disappeared and it dawned on me that this is a wicked song. However, there was more happening...Lyrikal, he is such a cool operator, it dawned on me that he has a voice that compels you to listen. Then again, the song, 'Love and Hate' is so damn good. The message is clear; it can only be described as 'beautiful'! Love and hate, the story of humanity! So many times we have to cringe because the music of so many riddims feel good but the lyrical content just stinks. Not so for this song, Lyro, and Cherrod Lewis nailed this one... just awesome, a beautiful timeless song with a sound message.
So where is Lyrikal on the Soca landscape? Machel remains the main draw while Kes and now Voice have carved out unique spaces in the arena of Soca. I would keep an eye on Lyro, he is doing everything right... his time will come but for now, he is accumulating a solid collection of songs. For those who don't know, Lyrikal's real name is Devon Martin; born in Trinidad but moved to the United States at the age of 13. In 2013 he released his first mixtape, 'R.M.F.A.O' and the rest is history.
My focus for this post is just to relate that listening to 'Love & Hate' while crossing the George Washington Bridge brought peace to my soul. I became calm under that damn GWB traffic stress. It dawned on me that Lyrikal's voice was very pleasing, his singing style is very relaxed making listening to him a pleasant experience. Then again, his vocal delivery is excellent and one can understand everything he is vocalizing. Indeed, simply put, his articulation, pronunciation make listening to him a joy. He can take you to 'Cloud 9', provide the music for a 'Criminal Wine', he can team up with friends and leave you 'Speechless', tell you that 'Fete Cyar Done', create 'Rukshun', fool you in to forgetting about 24/7 and have you thinking about 25/8 or just leave you in a 'Happy Place'. There are so many more songs to explore but today, and for this post, it is all about 'Love and Hate'.
I won't bore you with more reading simply because I wanted to shine a light on this very talented artist. He deserves your attention and to celebrate this moment I posted the song that caused me to pen this post, 'Love and Hate'. I can tell you this, Lyrikal is the real deal, Soca excellence!
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Production Notes/Music Credits:
Song Title: Love & Hate
Vibe: Star-Crossed Riddim
Produced by: CL Productions
Composers/Writers: Devon Martin/Cherrod Lewis
Live Guitars by: Cherrod Lewis
Mixed & Mastered by: Cherrod Lewis
Recorded by: Peter “WiLDFiRE” Noel
Publishers: Copyright Control (COTT)/Foxfuse LLC (BMI)
ISRC: QZHN51981658
Artwork by: SoCreative Designs
Animated Artwork by: Mario Porter
For Promotional Use Only
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Love and Hate