“In my mind…”
I really don’t need to say more. Every black person reading this knew where I was headed. That Donnie Hathaway gets you every time. If I followed up with “It’s Christmas time in Hollis, Queens” you would instantly know who was cooking what and where.
But those songs were from decades ago. Bop Alloy delivers the Holiday classics we need in 2020.
Substantial and Marcus D known as Bop Alloy continue to take us on a journey they began many years ago, evolving Hip Hop music as we knew it. “Winter Breaks 2”, the follow-up to their well-received project “Winter Breaks”, is unlike any album we’ll hear in 2020 and most likely beyond. I am so in love with the Kwanzaa 365 track, I have never heard Kwanzaa music like this!
One of the project’s standout tracks, “What’s it Without You” aptly captures the sentiment of the year with Substantial rapping, “Rather embrace the pain than run and hide from the truth/ that’s my point of view/ hard to know what to do/ supposed to be 2020, our whole perspective is skewed/”. Pismo’s angelic vocal arrangement (which could easily be mistaken as a small choir) and T. Lucas’ emotional letter to his father and everyone who lost loved ones this year hit differently.
“This album bangs from start to finish! If the first “Winter Breaks” is a holiday classic in your mind, “Winter Breaks 2″ will surely be up there with it, I promise you! Sub and Marcus gifted us in a BIG WAY!! Amazing job, fellas! Favorite track: ‘Twas The Night Before feat. Deborah Bond.” – Stephanie Hilliard
Now more than ever, with the responsibility placed on artists to be the storytellers who create the soundtrack to our lives, Bop Alloy chooses to accentuate the positive on tracks like “Our Message”, “Same Energy”, and “‘Twas the Night Before”, which plays like a much cooler, jazz-club duet version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” featuring a spectacular performance from Debórah Bond reminiscent of Ella in her prime.
Album available on all platforms. Listen here.
Website: Bop Alloy
