Brian H. Newman
January 25, 2021
Andromeda by Wurl Sotto © Brian H. Newman
Wurl Sotto’s debut album Andromeda, dropped in October of 2020, is a tale of transcendence, love, pain and forgiveness.
Sotto, a Detroit-based hip-hop artist and member of hip hop collective WE!RDOZ GANG, has been making a name for himself in Detroit over the past few years. While doing small shows around the city, he also has been doing very well on all streaming platforms such as SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music after receiving a feature in the Metro Times piece Bands to Watch in 2017 1.
His music takes us back to a time when soul music was at the forefront of pop culture. With hip-hop flows that are reminiscent of De La Soul or Tribe Called Quest, he speaks his truth, highlighting his consciousness as a powerful Black man in America struggling with obstacles that come with living in the USA. This seven track album features an array of awesome production from Jake Da Jew who starts us off with the opening track Intro, The Mercer Boys, who produced Wash Up On the Shore ft. Lokye and Troi, and you can’t forget G $wank, who created the lovely instrumental for Soul Food. There is also a stellar selection of collaborators that are featured on this project.
Keeping the project short and sweet at 20 minutes long, Sotto starts the tape off with a melodic chant for justice, finding power within the words. “I know they hate on me, find my peace in this melody, universe my symphony, carry me, carry me” - this lets you into the eyes of Sotto’s reality. The second song follows a dedication to his daughter; a story of trial and tribulations to reach heaven. In Heaven, Sotto speaks metaphorically on glory, satisfaction, and success, he sings for hope for his daughter and the younger generation - “Can we get to heaven? I never know, but trust and believe I will never tell you no”. The song is telling her to manifest her destiny to find her success and happiness in this universe. He is also accompanied by Troi, who offers wonderful harmonies to add depth to this track.
Love is the 3rd song on the album and is potentially the standout track with its powerful declaration of love, centered on the idea of finding that “someone” and serenading them with sweet words and spiritual melody. Martez Claybren, a prominent vocalist born and bred in Detroit, starts the verse by singing “Girl, I’m from the streets, you are from the stars, well I mean the hill, we could go that far. You could be my Jasmine, I’m your Aladdin”. Along with these beautiful words by Martez, Troi, who is an up and coming singer and songwriter, is featured on this track and the album 3 times, making them some of the most powerful tracks. In this song, she does beautiful duets with Sotto and Tezz; her strong voice shines bright like a fire.
The 4th song She Knows is the leading single from the album and almost acts as a remix of the very popular song Tadow by Fkj & Masego. The original song got very popular in 2017 when they did a recording of it in Red Bull studios in Paris and documented it on YouTube 2. The sample is sped up a bit, getting Sotto ready to bless the mic with his elegant wordplay. He carries his message of manifest destiny while speaking of a girl who is a centerfold who must have a boyfriend because she is so hot, but he has to shoot his shot. The verse starts with Sotto saying “ She got the Jello, saw her through my screen, I said hello”. He then goes on to say “Just might entice an acapella ella girl, stop playing, where’s your fella fella” - saying that she is so beautiful she must have a man, and if she doesn’t he is going to have to kick it with her and roll up some Backwoods. He also mentions that “your bro the next Mandela”, which shows how much he speaks as a activist, such as the late great South African leader Nelson Mandela.
The 5th song Wash Up On The Shore is the 3rd time we hear Troi on this album. This time, joined by frequent collaborator Lokye. Lokye sings the hook with a reggae twist, speaking of partying all night and ultimately hustling so hard that you enjoy your playtime so much more. The hook illustrates this idea very well “when the sun don’t shine, looking at my watch, you know I’m on my time , they be hating on you when your gold don’t shine, looking at my watch, you know I’m on my grind, on my time yea. What you know, penthouse wavy baby made it snow. Talking to this lady, we could take things slow, all night, litty, till we wash up on the shore.” Sotto follows the duet and tells us a little about his life goals, elaborating on his participation as a Black man in America; the way to overcome is to find yourself and be an individual with something to say. “Live for the youth, that’s motivational, bought my momma a coop, that’s inspirational.” Goals and accomplishments that are important to him to continue to move forward and support the people he loves.
Soul Food features Grand Rapid's heavy hitter spitter Belve. This song is easily the most hip-hop song on the project, with not much singing; it’s all about the bars. “I ain’t your teacher, better leave your questions at the desk. I ain’t asking you to believe but that there’s a noose around your neck and I ain’t chanting your spells of what I can and what I can’t, only thing that I don’t question, which is ours, is this breath” - here, Sotto contemplates on his tracks, giving us his thoughts with poetic word play and strong delivery. Belve comes in by saying “Can’t never fold ‘cause my spirit too old. Believe half of what I see, believe nothing that I’m told” - a strong declaration of self love, knowledge and that the world is out to get you so you have to move smart. Strong clear words that are delivered from both Sotto and Belve make this a pretty awesome hip-hop track.
Finishing up with Running in Place ft. fellow WE!RDOZ GANG member NVDEEM, they start the track with his aggressive in-your-face style and he is followed by slow melodic words to illustrate an awareness of reality that recognizes the little control we have over our existence in this universe.
Closing thoughts; this short EP album has a great message; it is very positive and has some great potential with the strong stand out singles to make airwaves across the world. Going forward, I hope to see Wurl Sotto make a collaboration project with Troi, and potentially also would like to get a little longer project with less features so we can learn and understand more about him as an artist. Look forward to all that Wurl Sotto has in store; check out his new project and follow him on social media to keep an eye on all of his new creative endeavors.
Andromeda
1. Intro
2. Heaven (feat. Troi)
3. Love (feat. Martez Claybren & Troi)
4. She Knows
5. Wash Up On the Shore (feat. Lokye & Troi)
6. Soul Food (feat. Belve)
7. Runnin’ In Place (feat. Nvdeem)
7 songs, 20 minutes
Released Oct. 20, 2020 3
Wurl Sotto performing at Granny's Chandelier © Brian H. Newman
1. John Struman, “Bands to watch 2017: Wurl Sotto,” The Metro Times, https://www.metrotimes.com/Detroit/bands-to-watch-wurl-sotto/Content?oid=2480863
2. “Fkj & Masego - Tadow,“ video file, 8:06, YouTube, posted by Fkj, May 24, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC8CH0Z3L54.
3. “Andromeda - Wurl Sotto,” October 20, 2020, Apple Music, https://music.apple.com/us/album/andromeda/1528182950