Using limited synthetics and a layered mix that could put just about anyone’s hips in motion, Wellingta lays down what could be the next big club jam in her new single “No Goodbyes” like she was born to be in the studio. Although there’s a lot of emphasis on her vocal more than the instrumentation, “No Goodbyes” is bound by its bassline and easy-swinging grooves, the latter of which is pushed along primarily through Wellingta’s linguistic delivery.
She’s got a lot of confidence as she comes into these verses, and while she’s not yet a household name in the hip-hop game, she plays like she is from one line to the next – and gets away with packing more swagger than she’s earned thus far. Part of getting big in rap or any other genre of music means trying things that no one else is willing to experiment with, and from the moment she hits the ground running in this track forward, I get the idea that we’re listening to someone unafraid of pushing the envelope with her lyrics or music. She’s got moxie crammed into a simplistic structure here, presenting herself with a compositional sensibility that I’ve been increasingly craving throughout the spring season in the American underground, and her attitude alone makes this a premium listen in my book.
There’s a lot of tension on the backend of the mix, but I think this was important to draw as much attention toward the cadence of the verses as possible. If there’s one thing this player knows how to do better than most anyone in her scene at the moment, it’s cut up a lyric with the kind of ease that normally comes only from having a couple of decades’ worth of experience in this game. Wellingta’s vocal is always the great uniting element in this piece, pushing together the melodic and percussive ornamentation rather than simply sticking out from the arrangement as a poetic point of expression, which by itself is something more experimental than the status quo calls for. The fluidity of this beat is a real crusher but were it not adorned with the smoky-voiced singing that Wellingta is offering up at the microphone, there’s no telling whether or not we could appreciate it as much as we can here.
To me, tone is everything in hip-hop and then some, and Wellingta does a terrific job setting a smart one in “No Goodbyes.” she knows how to get loose and have a good time, but when it comes down to it this is one of the more acerbic players you’re going to hear coming out of an underground channel before the year has concluded. “No Goodbyes” has stylistic elements that are just begging to be better exploited in a live performance, and with a little luck, we might just get the opportunity to hear these beats played in concert soon. Wellingta is ready for that next level, and were she not I don’t believe she would be bringing it as hard as she does in this single.
