Cap – Big Screen
REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/capish
Cap’s DIY approach to bringing his musical ambitions to fruition is quite unlike the scores of fly by night talents lacking the same sort of vision. It’s born out of his abiding love for the style that began with writing poetry in high school and working on his nascent vocal talents with other like-minded friends. He later enlisted in the military and, following his stint in uniform, Cap returned to his Southern California home base and began pursuing his grass roots approach to music and recording. It’s resulted in his own studio, label, publishing company, assorted appearances on outside project, appearances in music videos, and four solo albums with a new one to soon come. An early taste of where his music is going comes with the new single “Big Screen” and it provides longtime admirers with a solid re-affirmation of the qualities they love in this singular writer and performer while offering a sharp introduction to his talents for any newcomer.
There’s an intensely soulful quality distinguishing this song from the first and a slightly lengthy running time of just over four minutes feels justified from the first. Despite the soulful quality of the song, there’s no concession to a typically retro soul or R&B sound through horns or similar devices. Instead, there’s a delicate balance of lightly glistening synthesizer lines weaving together into a tangible groove that’s further accentuated by steady, percolating percussion. Cap wisely couples his sensitive vocals with further sweetening from some backing female voices and the balance struck between these two elements is quite effective; Cap further tweaks things by lapsing into his hip hop delivery and the contrast between the vocal styles gives the song an added urgency it might have otherwise lacked.
The lyrical content has a stronger “voice” than we might associate with similar efforts in the genre. Cap’s conceptualization of the song, his arrangement, and how he treats the lyrics is quite clear from the beginning and there’s no hesitation. The song does a great job of embodying its “characters” and there’s equal charisma coming from both Cap’s vocal and his supporting singing cast. There are no extended musical breaks in the songwriting and the sound is relatively seamless throughout – by this point in his career, it’s a given that Cap understands how to present unified compositions and recordings. It comes through with immense stylishness, but there’s ample substance propelling this song forward as well. “Big Screen” will satisfy serious fans of modern hip hop and soul while still entertaining casual fans as well. It’s a mature track from an artist working at the peak of his powers and who shows no signs of slowing down well into his career. “Big Screen” gets Cap’s 2018 off to a strong start and the remainder of the year will likely prove notable thanks to the momentum generated by this single.
Joshua Stryde
