Barz Noble as an artist name turns out to be a pretty fitting way to define the creative behind this album. These Soul Chapters do indeed emerge with the poetic reflections and delicate passion of someone with both a thoughtful and intelligent approach to hip hop. Gentle Hearts starts things up softly, nudging the listener in the direction of togetherness and appreciation for the way things are.
Musically you get into these vibes really quickly, Noble has arranged a playlist with plenty of colour and expressive, emotive warmth. For Us is an early highlight in this respect, an organic soundscape presents itself, backing up Noble’s delivery in a peaceful, quite hypnotic way. His ideas provoke a deeper realm of thought that comes in as a calming process within this setting.
Switching things up a little, The Fight (feat. MCK & Philocypha) sees the bars pour through at a greater speed, increasing the intensity and keeping things interesting with the varied features. Call Of Duty follows and is another highlight – the beat has an alternative, electronic feel to it, tripped up in nature and adding a light, marching-style feel. The vocal performance seems to suggest a higher passion, like there’s something big on the horizon. The song’s hook delivers and actually this moment reminded me of Outkast and the way they would craft and differentiate their hooks.
You grow to enjoy this project more and more as it progresses. Noble appears at first a little more of a story-teller than anything else, but as you really listen – there’s a lot of honesty and respectable wisdom to appreciate. At the very least, you take away from his words a sense of consideration – not blindly walking through your day to day, but taking it all in – pondering the world your role within it.
Keep It Moving Regardless is the perfect example of all of this – a stunning musical backdrop supports the increasing passion and the ideas in a wonderful way. There’s something inherently inspirational and motivational about the song, not to mention it’s a songwriting smash in the way it’s been arranged and polished – a definite personal favourite, musically satisfying and suggestive of a more aware and connected lifestyle.
Time To Let Go is a smooth and easy to escape within piece of music and writing. Sevenfold afterwards adds further to the blissful good vibes offered by the album’s seductive movement and self awareness. Still the ideas keep on coming, a single listen turns out to be far from enough. Fortunately, the soothing, jazz-like aura makes revisiting the playlist a simple decision. EBONY MUZIK’s feature on Sevenfold is gorgeously soulful and fits the mood perfectly well.
Towards the end of the album, Rainset feels as creative as ever – the ambiance has been built up from the thought to the fact – now though, there’s a feel of classic hip hop; those nostalgically joyful beats and vocal deliveries that warmed even the coldest of days. Take a Sip follows and by this point you’re calm to your core. That classic energy remains and the mildly theatrical presentation of the lines gives them a little more impact.
Legacy brings the project to a finish and reminds you to work hard, dream big, and stay focused. We all need this sometimes, and Noble offers it up in mass supply on this project – though he does so in a quiet and smooth way; not screaming or overly preaching, just laying out the ideas that are known to work. There’s a subtle confidence to his voice that creates a strangely fascinating effect – you listen more intently with each new track that comes through. Without a doubt, I’ll be coming back to this one. A crisp and wonderful collection from a thoughtful artist clearly driven by positivity.
You can never move forward to the future if you’re constantly running back to the past.
Lyrics written by Ricardo Neeley except where noted. All tracks produced (+ instrumentation) by Hashaun Adderley. The Fight co-produced by Todd Marshall co-written by Schvonne Mckinney & Jessie Mcqueen. Keep It Moving Regardless co-produced by Zoltan Johnson. Sevenfold live horns by Ronald Campbell Jr. Download the album via iTunes or stream it on Spotify. Find & follow Barz Noble on Facebook & Twitter or visit his Website for more information.
