MC and producer duo – Mike Colville and Liam James, respectively – MC Salum join forces with Katie Lynch (stmatriins) on a latin-tinged swaggerfest.
It’s difficult to understate the impressiveness of James’ production on Felina – intricate classical guitar blends perfectly into the minimalist beat and effortlessly gives way to the tactile synths of the chorus. The glitchy samples in the bridge and introduction are wonderfully modern and abrasive without being superfluous. Lynch’s vocals carry the hook beautifully and provide an ethereal and cinematic atmosphere.
It’s a shame that, despite the wealth of talent on display on this track, the central premise rests on a dated and played-out situation. Colville said of the track:
“a gallus cowboy longs for his old flame, and finds out she is stuck working as a prostitute for a crime syndicate. In order to free her, he trades his soul to a shaman for eternal power. Felina is about the aftermath.”
Luckily, very little of Colville’s bars actually seems to have anything to do with the underlying story and instead rests on the metaphorical laurels of rodomontade and East-West coast jibing. While his flow is pristine, the lyrical content is forgettable – begging the question of they brought a fictionalised prostitute into it in the first place.
MC Salum’s debut album is scheduled for 2020 and will surely bring with it critical acclaim and success. It will be interesting to see if they manage to get out of the lyrical shadows of those who have come before them.