Today's Song: emawk Takes the "HIGHROAD" in Spellbinding New Single

A groovy, sun-soaked outpouring of coming-of-age reflections, “HIGHROAD” finds emawk shining with raw lyricism and an effortless, soulful performance from the heart.

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Stream: “HIGHROAD” – emawk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5sJ2QqkpyE&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=emawk

I’ve got a lot of bitterness in my soul; I’ve got a lot of cobwebs to clean up; I’ve got a lot of old fears that I’ve gotta unlearn and I’m unlearning…

A deeply personal reckoning and universal lesson all in one, emawk’s new single is as much a vibe as it is a message worth internalizing. A groovy, sun-soaked outpouring of coming-of-age reflections, “HIGHROAD” finds emawk shining with raw lyricism and an effortless, soulful performance from the heart.

Under my skin, you won’t get
I said under my skin, you won’t get
You talk a good game, tried to cross up my brain
Double-cross, then go on and talk shit
Well, you quick on your toes, I’ll admit
I’m feeling like A.I., so watch this
I let you think that you won, I flip the script like I want
Then stepped over the spot where you tripped

You tripping my dude
Thinking that you had me figured out from the beginning
(Shows what you know these days)
Told every single body that nobody need to worry ’bout me, oh
(Shows no one knows these days)
I had my hang-ups, I hung ’em up
(I put that dark to the side and I)
Made my peace with somе nightmares
So if all you got is talk, you light work to me
(Shows you what words are good for thеse days)

Released January 27, “HIGHROAD” and its B-side “BEADS” arrive as emawk’s stirring first songs of 2021. The artist moniker for Boston-born, Kenyan raised, New York based Kwame Nkrumah, emawk debuted with his for ness EP in 2017, and has continued to entrance listeners ever since. His deep beats and smoldering sonics have been a source of respite throughout the past year, with songs like “PILOT,” “ATLANTIC,” and “u.s.” (ft. Gabby Michelle) proving both timely and inspired.

If the transition from 2020 into 2021 required a bit of a “refresh,” then emawk has both the antidote and the answer we need. With a sweet glow emanating the deep heat of summer, “HIGHROAD” embraces thick bass lines and relaxed drums; over an easy-flowing, steady rhythm melts the artist’s effervescent, heated vocals full of conviction and learned confidence. His words are as much a confrontation as they are a mature flex – and nowhere is the felt more so than in an intoxicating, heavy chorus:

I’ll tell you what you walked yourself into (Yeah, yeah)
I’ll tell you what you talked yourself into (Yeah, yeah)
Congratulations, you ran your mouth and got yourself
Nowhere, nowhere
I’ll tell you what you walked yourself into (Yeah, yeah)
I’ll tell you what you talked yourself into (Yeah, yeah)
Congratulations, you ran your mouth and got yourself
Nowhere, nowhere

I’ve got a lot of bitterness in my soul
I’ve got a lot of cobwebs to clean up
I’ve got a lot of old fears that I’ve gotta unlearn and I’m unlearning
Yeah, ’cause they won’t help me get to where I wanna go
(They won’t help me, they won’t help me get to where I wanna go)
Oh, I let go and now I’m
(Up and on to better things, yeah)

While folks may be prone to label him as RnB, emawk’s music is a fluid blend of sound and styles. His flow reflects some hip-hip influences, whilst sonics and production styles reflects such alternative contemporaries as Glass Animals and Tame Impala. For the artist himself, his new songs importantly showcase him in a more candid setting; he prides himself on these examples of what he call untethered self-expression: “My favorite thing about both ‘HIGHROAD’ and ‘BEADS’ is that neither one of them started off with me overthinking, and neither one of them was about spending forever looking for the right words,” he says. “While I’m proud of the lyrics and the time I took to write them, it was one of the few times where writing was mostly about the vibe, as cheesy as that might sound. NY producer Zach Ezzy sent me the instrumental for Highroad and I just vibed with it. I made the instrumental for beads and just vibed with it. Hopefully that comes across and hopefully whoever listens can vibe with it as well.”

Shout out to anyone who ever caught me on a bad day, and decided that that’s all that I ever could be, love….

“HIGHROAD” is fun, seductive, and sincere. The track’s message is worth taking to heart: How many songs fully embrace doing the right thing, and lean into being the “good guy” with such sly satisfaction? Bold, tongue-in-cheek, and clever, emawk is easy to side with and a delight to indulge in. Join his journey on the “HIGHROAD” and stay tuned for more from this up-and-coming artist in the months to come!