It’s generally thought that R&B is better off on the simpler side than it ever is an elaborate sonic construct, but RockLee is an artist who challenges this narrative with every song he releases. His new single, “It’s a Feeling,” neither tethers itself to the aesthetical foundations of melodic hip-hop nor shamelessly steals cues from the old school in R&B; it’s a delicate, instrumentally focused showcase of rhythm and harmony. While its singers make quite the fine contribution to the narrative with their vocals, this is undeniably a vehicle to spotlight the best compositional virtues RockLee has as a songwriter.
Mel Pacifico and Uness add a lot of luster to the melodic value of this song just with their presence, and I don’t think the track would have the same emotional feel it does here with a different pair of crooners in the mix.
Coming in too strong or too soft the same would have been ultra-easy for players with lesser skills, but with the mature approach these two singers have, there’s never a moment in which we feel like we’re listening to something that isn’t wholly provocative and special. RockLee picks good collaborators, and this further demonstrates how terrific a musical chemist he can be no matter who he shares the studio with.
“It’s a Feeling” reps a surprisingly bold sound from a flourishing Canadian underground this summer, and combined with the other material I’ve heard from this player, I think it’s rather impossible to question his ability as a solo artist, producer, and rising hit-maker on the northern side of the border. The American underground is a bit more cutthroat than the scene he’s contending with, but if this is an adequate sample of what he’s going to be ushering out all year long, 2021 could be the year RockLee takes over his country and the continent at large.
Kim Muncie