If It's Too Loud...

My love of seemingly everything L'Orange touches is well documented here at If It's Too Loud... His 2019 collaboration with Jeremiah Jae was my #2 album of that year, and this year his third album with Solemn Brigham under the name Marlowe comes in at #8 for me. Marlowe 3 is exactly what I want from hip hop in 2022. It has a vintage feel to it while still sounding modern. Once the album kicks into gear with the second track, "Past Life," you know exactly what you're getting. This is just a fun album, and Brigham has a voice and flow that is all his own. How fun is this album? There's a track called "President the Rock." While a lot of the modern hip hop I get into tends to be sparse, Marlowe 3 has a big, slick production while still not sounding like mainstream hip hop. We might not cover a ton of rap here, but Marlowe are impossible to resist. Songs of note: "Past Life," "Royal," "Light Trip," and "Godfist"

Photo by Kevin Titus L'Orange can do no wrong here at If It's Too Loud..., especially when he's collaborating with Solemn Brigham in their project Marlowe. Their latest single, "Light Trip," has this unexpected futuristic sound. It's reminding me a lot of classic mid-90's hip hop before samples basically turned hip hop into cover songs. It's a weird combination of retro 60's space age cool and classic hip hop, but while still sounding completely modern. Plus, Brigham's flow is one of the most unique ones out in hip hop today. It's like the laid back feel of someone like Snoop Dogg but with the buttery feel of classic Motown singers. Marlowe is one of the more special projects in hip hop currently. L'Orange says of the upcoming album: “This album feels like a maturity to who we are as a group. We set out to make something that was big, energetic, fun and explosive and I feel like we did that without losing control. I feel like Solemn and...

For the latest single from Marlowe (the musical collaboration between producer L'Orange and rapper Solemn Brigham), the dup brought in Blu and Joell Ortiz fora couple of verses. "Royal" is the perfect showcase for all three MCs. Each one gets to shine on their verse with a perfect, high energy backing track from L'Orange. With a ton of sampled horns, "Royal" has all the energy of a brass band but more rooted in hip hop than those collaborations usually go. If you weren't already excited about an upcoming album from Marlowe, this one will win you over. L'Orange says of the new song: “This one I wanted to get out of the way of the rappers and let them do what they do best.” You can listen to "Royal" below. Marlowe 3 is due out October 28 on Mello Music Group and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp . For more on L'Orange, check out the artist's website . You can find more on Solemn Brigham here . Marlowe 3 by Marlowe

It feels like it's been a while since we've heard from L'Orange. Luckily, the North Carolina based producer is back with new music, and, even better, it's his project with Solemn Brigham! Marlowe's new single, "Past Life," is exactly what we want from the collaboration between L'Orange and Brigham. It's a very jazz based song, which is going to remind you of classic artists like Digable Planets and Guru. But, "Past Life" is hardly a 90's jazz meets rap throwback. Marlowe's new song sounds like a modern take on that sound. While a lot of classic jazz rap was laid back, this one is upbeat and even bouncy. We tend to get into everything L'Orange related, but this one is great even by that standard. L'Orange says of Marlowe's upcoming album: “This album feels like a maturity to who we are as a group. We set out to make something that was big, energetic, fun and explosive and I feel like we did that without losing control. ...