Angel Haze. Adrienne Nicole photo
Music video–Angel Haze, ‘Love of My Life’
– by Brendan Fairweather
Over the past few years, hip-hop has had a resurgence in talented female rappers. It began with Nicki Minaj in 2010, continued this year with Azelia Banks, and now Angel Haze has stepped up.
At 21, the Detroit-born emcee is the perfect mix of young raw talent and fearless outspokenness. In July, Haze released her first full-length mixtape, Reservation, and has deservedly seen her buzz grow beyond the reaches of the underground rap scene. The album offered up 14 original tracks showcasing her lyrical abilities that are on par with any other rapper, male or female, out today.
Haze has continued to flood the market with new music and just this month released Classick, a six-song EP full of reworked rap classics.One of the highlights was her controversial rework of Eminem’s “Cleaning Out My Closet”. Her version vividly describes the sexual abuse and rape that she endured through her childhood, beginning at just seven years old. Her lack of hesitation combined with her chilling narration displays Haze’s skill as a storyteller, and her willingness to lay it all out for her music.
Classick also brought to light the strength of her singing ability. While she provided hints of her capabilities on Reservation, Haze’s interpretation of Erykah Badu’s “Love of my Life” showed her capacity to carry entire songs with her smooth and melodic voice. A video for the track was released Nov 20.
http://youtu.be/tiSRRNPMj48
Haze is currently working on her debut album expected early 2013 through Universal Republic. She recently revealed that she is working with Jason Mraz as well as Bassnectar with the desire to expand the reaches of her musicality.
In a recent interview, she made it clear she doesn’t want to get caught in any mold or genre. “Rap is cool until I get singing lessons and become a great singer, and I get guitar lessons and become a great composer. I want to do all these things so rap is my gateway drug; it opens up everything.”
