A lot will be said about the lead vocal in Snypa’s new single “The 6ix,” but for me, without the element that we’re first greeted by in the intro to the song, I just can’t say for sure whether or not the chills factor would be as astronomical as it is when the singing does come into the picture. The part that the setting plays, in the grander scheme of things, is admittedly minuscule at best. It does not convey verses to the audience and it doesn’t set the beat up behind the melodies. It cannot frame the groove more than it can follow it and it doesn’t quite produce enough gusto to impact the harmony in any way Snypa doesn’t allow himself. Was the arrangement in “The 6ix” essential to our enjoying the substance of this young upstart rapper’s songwriting skillset?
I don’t think there’s any answer other than a resounding yes. This is a rapper and singer who has a lot of muscularity in his voice, and every component of the master mix is playing some part in giving us the full-blown theatrical performance we’re getting in this all-new single. What it all comes down to is the fact that without every detail, no matter how big or small, this song wouldn’t be the full package it is today, and it would be criminal for fans not to experience how far its singer has come this year.
I love the elegance of this arrangement, and the first time I sat down to take a closer peek at the structure of “The 6ix,” I was taken aback by how hypnotically the vocals drone forth beside – and not on top of – the instruments here. Snypa’s vocal is breathtakingly smooth no matter how it’s being worked out, and whether he meets a tough spot in the groove or not, his execution is always consistently spot-on. He doesn’t sound overly rehearsed, but entirely free in his dispensing of one verse after another, and part of me would like to hear a remix of this single just to further explore the depth of his unforced delivery in a new setting. This could work as well as a broken-down work as it does with this layout, and that isn’t always the case in indie hip-hop.
Snypa’s work had my attention the minute it came pouring out of my speakers, but if his main goal in releasing “The 6ix” was to solidify a place in the hearts of critics like myself, I don’t know that he could have done a much better job. His journey is far from complete – there are elements of his songwriting that could be ironed out, streamlined even, perhaps in the name of fitting in with evolving interests towards postmodernity on the mainstream side of hip-hop – but his putting so much personality into this kind of an effort speaks to his potential longevity in the business. I’ll be sticking around to hear more of his enigmatic, hard-hitting beats in the future, and I think you might be doing the same once you analyze “The 6ix” on your own.
