R&B fans are always on the search for another crisp sounding artist that is a straight-to-playlist type of sound. Recent artists who have reached this holy grail status with their sound range from Bryson Tiller to SZA, and have really created a place for this kind of fresh, clean and always listenable music. Mazyn is all of these things, but add a hot trilingual spin on things, and you have one of the newest talents coming straight out of Ottawa.
Drake brought Arabic to the mainstream listening party in his freestyle “Only You” with UK drill rapper Headie One. But whilst Drake dabbled in Arabic, Mazyn has mastered the trick of blending Western beats with the Eastern lingua fraca, and his track “Mafesh Monafes” is the best example of this beautiful blend of East and West. The last great artists to get this kind of vibe on their tracks were Danish band Outlandish, who blended Urdu, Spanish and English. Fans of that band will definitely see hallmarks in Mazyn’s work, which is a cleaner R&B opposed to a heavy hip-hop.
French artists Vegedream and Aya Nakamura have also made their marks on the R&B and Hip-Hop scenes, showing that with music, the beat and sound can reach a universal crowd. Mazyn is able to intersect even in this new development of French music, as he also has the language in his locker. His track “Mon Monde” is nothing shy of masterful from the young artist, as he raps effortlessly on a chilled hip-hop beat in French, but twists to English halfway, showing he has bragging rights in the industry.
So we have an artist who in his own right finds himself at the crossroads between hip-hop and R&B’s newest trends of Arabic and French, but he isn’t done yet. Whilst sounding good is key for music, especially in languages we can’t understand, Mazyn also rips through meaningful lyrics in his tracks. His song “Ever Since” is an important one in his discography for me, it shows the rich maturity in the young artist, which is a trait that is evermore scarcer to find. Not forgetting his identity in a materialistic industry, spitting on the track, “Now tell me how could I get comfy, when my country’s dyin’ and my people hungry”.
A multi-talented artist here, who is at the cutting edge of what is seen as very on-trend in the industry today. However, Mazyn is not an artist just for today, he is an artist with a very developed creative palette, and with the ability to do so in three different languages. Two tracks that really show the versatile nature of Mazyn are “Break In” and “Better Days”. The former is a track destined for a club-hit, and I can see DJ’s having a great time mixing it up. The latter track “Better Days” is tuned for individual listening, as it has more of a sultry, slower mix.
As if the guy is not internationally seasoned enough, his newest track “Wanna” features a palm tree on the cover art and definitely punches at that beach chilled vibe perfectly. Just imagine if a nice beam of sunlight with a cool breeze was a sound and that's what he has encapsulated. Definitely one to add straight to summer playlist, with a dance and R&B fusion that will release all that serotonin.
We all look forward to seeing what else the artist has to offer us, and I know for one that I will be in that queue as soon as that EP or album is out.
Words by Zakriya Mohammed