On Repeat: 'Chosen One' by Anderson .Paak and Sonyae Elise
Tristan Young @talltristan
Anderson .Paak has had a busy 12 months. Two full LPs and a ton of side gigs- this is great news! We wanted to highlight the track ‘Chosen One’ from his recent album Ventura for EP28 of Beats On Repeat. Aside from sounding gorgeous with a washed out chill wave composition, the vocal tone of Paak and frequent collaborator Sonyae, and their lyrical content creates something of a dichotomous contrast, at least at first. Paak has a stable and practiced flow, his vocals processed to sound grounded and terrestrial. Sonyae’s vocals however are soaring with ghostly and echoing reverb trails. Her delivery bellows with grandeur and depth while still being able to radiate an otherworldly aura. It sounds like multiple tracks of her voice are layered directly on top of each other to give her a vocals a more vertical sense of towering scale- it’s awesome. So it’s with some surprise that the track eschews any kind of social commentary or agenda and is rather one of pure lust ostensibly. Lines like, “beat it like you’re hittin’ a drum, freak me till the world is done”, pretty much sums it up. Despite its overly hedonistic lyrics It’s actually something of sweet ode to Paak’s wife who stuck with him through some pretty rough times. Paak’s delivery gets a little more charmingly staccato towards the end as the piano matches his form- he sneaks in a wicked MF DOOM reference as well. Sonyae ends it right by transitioning the lyrics beyond primal urges and into a semblance of destiny and commitment. “We should be more then each others babies, we don’t have to, but we have to”, she commands in a beautifully authoritative tone. In that sense ‘Chosen One’ may have a message after all. That they take their time getting there makes it all the more satisfying. Check out the track on EP28 of the Beats On Repeat or on our Apple Music playlist. Find the show on iTunes, Spotify, and right here at Midrange.