Sxee Finesse born Rashard Hakeem Crenshaw was raised in the heart of port city Mobile, Alabama. He first found his love for music when he was just 6 years old. Watching his fav movie “Moonwalker” which starred the well-known king of pop Michael Joseph Jackson. This only inspired Rashard to take his interest in music a step further, once he got into dancing, in order be like his idol. He was also fueled by his freestyle rapping sessions with his fellow peers. This lead to his debut song at 16, “Weed and Water” which he released via Soundcloud. At 17 he formed a small label Supreme Music Group with his friends SMG-Zear and Trill Will. He went on to release the EP “6699”, which he followed up with “AM”.
From that first confession to the handful that follow it, “Yours Truly”, the latest project by Sxee Finesse, is his darkest and most honest work. Each word on the EP is shaped by his rich and hazy orotund tone as he nosedives straight into druggy, hopeless romantic territory. His mood dictates the output regardless of how it may come across. When creating, Sxee Finesse is fully immersed in his work, crafting soundscapes of melancholy and psychedelia.
“Yours Truly” works hard at being truthful with itself. Naturally, hopelessness follows suit. You build a strong sense of self by tearing yourself down. It’s what you do when you’re face-down on the floor, and it dictates how, you’ll build yourself back up. Thankfully, Sxee Finesse manages to reach fresh air on every cut. This recording is about unbarred honesty, and the act of becoming transparent to those around you.
Right from the opening track “About”, Sxee Finesse starts digging deep into his psyche, a place clouded with substances and relationship intricacies. Many rappers open their projects with lavish announcements of their greatness. Instead, Sxee Finesse dives into the introspective and personal.
“Frozen” pops out with a production that is languorous, foggy atmospherics punctuated by resonating bass and grainy percussion, and Sxee Finesse uses this sound to compose impressionistic scenes rather than blown-out melodrama. The hiccupping drums beneath lends a fragile groove to the proceedings.
The beat is engaging on “Luh Wayne”, with the use of a cut-up piano and guitar, as well as a steady handclap and drum beat that captures the dark minimalist tone of the song. At tentative and self-effacing, at times even hostile, but always understated, Sxee Finesse navigates his way across these tracks with a psychological costume that is more authentic than those of many of his peers.
“Demon Slay” may be a master class in ominous mood-setting and a cutting excavation of an inquiring psyche, as Sxee Finesse and SMG-Zear exchange twisted bars on top of skittering hi-hats and shimmering keys. All throughout, this EP is brutally candid; it’s a visceral, unrelenting snapshot of both ambiguous and unambiguous situations. The whole thing is set inside the tangled labyrinth of Sxee Finesse searching psyche.
The closing track “Pain”, features both Trill Will and SMG-Zear. Riding on a smooth but slapping beat, line by line, each heartfelt confession is countered with some personal realization. “Yours Truly” might be Sxee Finesse most mature and nuanced lyrical performances. However it takes a few listens to fully appreciate the depth, mood and complexity of the writing.
OFFICIAL LINKS: MUSIC STREAMS
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