Stylized like a trap number but supported by a more potent groundwork than you’re expecting to encounter, it’s difficult to deem Feez da Popstar’s new track, “M T F (More Than Friends),” anything other than a breathtaking example of modern hybridity in hip-hop. From the moment we get started forward, an angst-ridden beat is circling the lead vocal like a lion preparing to come in for the kill. There’s little buffering between the bassline and the synthetic harmony Feez da Popstar is clinging to at the forefront of the mix, but he doesn’t sound overcrowded here at all.
Rather than pressing the beat to create as urgent a tone in “M T F (More Than Friends)” as possible, this is a player who wants to take his time – and force us to slow down a little bit with him – all in the name of exploiting his voice for every ounce of pure sonic bliss it’s worth. Experimenting with harmonies isn’t a new concept for this generation of rappers, but among those who aren’t losing their focus on rhythm, this might be the most exciting young artist I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in the past few months.
There’s not as much tension behind the beat as there could have been, but I think Feez da Popstar was trying to be provocative with the framework of the instrumentation in doing as much. Between his performance style and the influence his history as an artist is bringing to the booth, he’s got a lot of versatility that he’s trying to showcase in “M T F (More Than Friends),” and there isn’t a lot he has to do to give us the complete measurement of his depth we need to appreciate what his skills are made of here.
These are two artists ready to challenge each other in the studio – their chemistry speaks to this directly – but they’re never competing for dominance over the direction of the music because that’s always unquestionably Feez da Popstar himself. The master mix doesn’t suggest any interest in blowing up the same old bass-born grooves that we’ve been hearing across the trap underground for the better part of the past five years, but instead, a desire to branch into soul territory the way few have been inclined to in recent times.
I can’t say for sure what’s going to happen with this player’s career in the future, but I think that what he’s done in “M T F (More Than Friends)” is very telling of what he can do if he sticks with the present mind frame he has as both a musician and a businessman. Branding is everything in this game, and by making it clear in a track like this how little filler matters to him when crafting original beats, he makes it known to anyone who listens to “M T F (More Than Friends)” that making creative and expressive music is all he’s thinking about in the booth. His acerbic behavior and willingness to stay conventional with some aspects of his compositional style say a lot about his artistic character.
Rachel Townsend