SALIMATA Smoothly Slides All Over “The Happening”
This is the fun part of my job. Being able to point at a piece of good music that may not be on everyone’s radar and saying, “hey, but what about this?”
Personally, I’m in the business of starting the new year by digging back into those holiday season releases once the Santa dust settles and my son is happy with his Christmas/Birthday/Reyes gifts. You would think bloggers, writers, music reporters, etc, are catching everything and making the time to digest everything. We’re all human. One day, one word, one play at a time.
Insert SALIMATA - “The Happening” for our enjoyment. One day the promo for “Jackpot” hit my algorithm (as we are no strangers to Ms. ‘MATA) and my ears immediately perked up. Then revisiting “9-5” is a powerful reminder of how we’re constantly in the presence of talented artists. That’s how impactful good promotion can be. When it organically catches your attention to make room for the music to shine. But as dope as that single is, I want to start at the very beginning.
“Seen yo’ press kit and I ain’t impressed, kid”
Starting “The Happening” with “SWEETTHANG” & “Spur” is about as strong of an album intro anyone can have. SALIMATA makes it clear what to expect: a pen oozing braggadocio held by a creative who knows when to underline, when to italicize, and when to break out some curses in cursive. SALI’ has a voice that carries every word to where it needs to go. Join that with beats that feel alive under the vocals, some even with a bounce that you actively have to stop your head from nodding along, and it’s hard to have a bad time. So a deserved shout out to listed producers Creestal, Corey Fonville, hoangsolo, Angelo LeRoi, Jedi P, Velvetian Sky, and Overkast for their contributions.
I have nothing but blanketed praise across the board for the highs on this album. “The Happening” feels like you combined the lyrical grit of Method Man with the creative whimsy of Missy Elliott and synthesized it inside the mind of SALIMATA. Like, spinning none other than “Fergalicious” into a reimagined flow with similar flavor is a 10 out of 10 move. The lows are rather non-existent. Even from first listen last month when it dropped, 11 of 14 songs went into my huge playlist of songs I throw on shuffle to let them find me again. And each time the songs mentioned above came on, plus “Let’s Talk About It,” “Centerfold,” and “Sprung” featuring Peyton, I had to double-take & run it back.
“So much ice in the car that’s a cool whip, and the body hypnotize like illusion”
Seeing the reception of SALIMATA’s On The Radar Freestyle (specifically Erykah Badu dropping hearts on Instagram), as she spits out “Let’s Talk About It” in one take, with the mic on, like a “real” rapper would, only makes me feel better about what’s happening right in front of our very eyes.
But less about the future, we’ll see where it all goes in due time. I’m here for the journey right now… and right now “The Happening“ is a great first step if you’re new here, like I am.