What SEA Gyal lacks in bars, it makes up for it with dreamy, voluminous production.
GENRE: TRAP / HIP HOP / R&B RELEASE DATE: JULY 26 2019 Airliftz is a Malaysian rapper and producer under the This Way Up Records label, and his latest single is a wavy trap tribute to Southeast Asian women. Personally, Airliftz’s foray into much darker, sub-bass infused trap has not been one of his strongest suits in comparison to the ones where he seems to embody the spirit of 10 Day-era Chance the Rapper (e.g. Appreciate). Tracks like Gwalos pack some heat, but doesn’t feel impactful enough, or you have middle-of-the-road tracks such as Call Me When It's Over.
SEA Gyal on the other hand, shows Airliftz further refining that sound, where the atmosphere of the song is decidedly floaty and intimate.
The foreground of the production is not just punctuated by hi-hats and bass, but also earmarked with this melancholic tone that sounds like it could be the soft patter of rain or faint radio static. Whatever it is, Airliftz beautifully captures a sincere kind of romanticism in SEA Gyal, with some vague creative parallels to artists like Drake. Maybe the song could do with slightly more lyrical substance or variation, but the overall aesthetic from SEA Gyal is well-executed. Or maybe I’m just really happy this didn’t turn out to be a dancehall song, since it has the word “Gyal”, and I’m also immensely relieved that Airliftz did not adopt a Jamaican accent. The music video for "SEA Gyal" will be coming out on 17 August 2019. The video will be directed by ATG and co-directed by R&B artist from This Way Up, LUNADIRA. ATG's video repertoire includes the music video for LUNADIRA's "ur cute but boring" and most recently "GET MUNNI" by Lil Asian Thiccie & Zamaera. According to rapper and founder of This Way Up, Jin Hackman, Airliftz's next album is tentatively slated for October 2019. No other detail regarding the album is confirmed, except that SEA Gyal will not be a part of it.
RATING: 4 / 5
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