Kris Cartel | A Versatile Artist That Speaks From The Soul
Whatever you’re feeling, there’s a Kris Cartel record to lean onto. Regardless of skin color or gender, Cartel’s music offers a message that hits close to home. His lyrics may attest to his emotional vulnerability in life-changing situations, but they also speak about ’fighting for a brighter day.’ Likewise, Cartel forewarns the haters about pushing him to the edge. He stresses others with an aggressive cadence to not take his pain for weakness. An example of this can be heard in Cartel’s song “JUJU.” He says through one-line, “I come from an age where your hands up, guns down.” On a larger scale, every tone in his music is set by how he feels. If Cartel is in his feels, the artist will narrate with a baritone style of auto-tune. But if he’s deep in his pockets, the rap delivery will come off more demanding. Cartel’s song palette varies as well.
Flipping through his discography, you’ll come to know that the artist takes influence from all genres. Take, for instance, his songs “Trapped” and “Run It Up.” In “Trapped,” the soundscape is led by a rockstar-inspired guitar progression, then backed up by bright piano keys, auto-croon, and a booming 808. “Run It Up,” on the other hand, showcases a different side of Cartel. The sound palette is trap-heavy with a bellowing 808 and infectious chimes. Ultimately, Cartel is a multi-faceted artist who deciphers all emotions to a tee, “Whatever I’m feeling at the time is what I’m gonna run with.” he says, “My music regardless of the genres or the sound of the record will always carry an emotional tone. Happiness, anger, pain. All of that is illustrated in the music I make.” Just listen to Cartel’s project, OutOfFocus3. There aren’t too many songs that sound alike. Production-wise, you can hear the journey taken. You can feel the overall story line, the pain, happiness, and rage. All these feelings and emotions are portrayed in OutOfFocus3. Expect to find a song that resonates within you. And that’s just listening to a whole project.
Kris Cartel self-identifies with being misunderstood yet understood in inevitable catastrophes. “I pride myself on being able to connect with anyone from any walk of life because of the life I’ve lived,” he adds. Before ‘Kris Cartel,’ he was known as Eroc. But Eroc was always mad. So Cartel felt like he had to make a change. During the time of his incarceration, he was working on a clothing line named Kris Cartel. After returning home, Kris Cartel began experimenting with his sound and liked how it was coming out. Eventually, he immersed in the moniker. By chance, Cartel created an ‘image’ that others gravitated to with ease.
When it’s time to compile music, Cartel runs with how he’s feeling in the moment. Afterward, the artist will search for a beat that fits, “I walk a lot when I write. So I’ll end up around my neighborhood smoking and writing. “ he says, “This might sound weird, but writing is the dark is also something that I do.” Cartel’s life is in his music. “How I feel is heard, and I’m able to get things off my chest. It helps me get through whatever I’m going through.” Speaking of which, Cartel’s favorite song to record is “Trapped.” According to Cartel, everything off of “Trapped” was different. He saw musical growth, “Just seeing how far I could push myself and the response I got from the record, created a level of happiness I didn’t think I could reach with music. Especially seeing as “Trapped” is an ‘emo’ song.” He also enjoyed making this punchline off his “So Brooklyn” freestyle: “You Jordan?/Well I play Scotti Pippen/Listen The sidekicks never get the clout/ Forgetting all the work a nigga putting out/Forgetting how the fuck a nigga held it down/You forget where you were not around/He held it down/Did you get that there/You forgot what Pippen did when Jordan left that year/Sidekick where? Nigga, that’s a dope ass pair/Pocket aces playing poker/We don’t play around here.”
Moving forward, expect his E.P LiveFromABrokenHome to drop. “Tumba” (which is the Krio word for the yams, the cheeks, ass) will be the single that sets everything off. “It’s an afro-beats styled song that I dug into my Sierra Leone west Africa heritage to create. I’m super excited for people to hear it.”
If you haven’t already, check out Kris Cartel below:
