Ian Kelly Closes Out The Season With ‘A Summer Pack With Love.’
Cover art by @designerbasi.
Today’s music scene has mostly anyone with an internet connection trying to make a name for themselves as a rapper. In a genre defined by over saturation and ephemeral careers, true talent that speaks for itself on the first listen has a way of catching someone off guard like a punch from Mike Tyson to the chin. That was my first reaction when playing the first track , from Ian Kelly’s EP A Summer Pack With Love, “In the Bay”. Sampling Snoop Dogg singing the titular line of “Nothing But a G Thang” from Dr. Dre’s iconic album The Chronic, the song has Ian and Sandy Benjamin trading sharp verses, with Ian taking on a melodic flow that plays in and out of the pocket, dropping references to the ‘64 Impala from Eazy E’s “Boyz in da Hood”, while balancing the beauty and beasts of growing up in the Bay Area. Sandy slows things down to flow that almost sounds spoken, smoothly playing with the rhythm like putty, and how he “gets stupid and still keep (his) self respect.”
Shot by Renee Lopez
Shot by Renee Lopez
The vibe completely shifts to a soulful electro-pop groove in “Step” featuring SundaY. Melding their voices in unison octaves, the two artists let their vocals carry the groove, getting the audience to “move & step”, before SundaY graces the pulse with excellent harmonies. Ian delivery goes to just above a whisper, saying this love “ain’t come with a title/tidal, but it come with a wav(e) like MP3”, showing off the sharpness of his pen while adding to the danceability to the track. The third track, “Love Agenda” takes the listener from euphoria to introspection, featuring fellow Bay Area artist, Lulbearrubberband, as they recount their experiences with past flames, and interrogate their own relationships with love and intimacy.
“Get it In” draws in the listener first with chopped and screwed vocals akin to the sounds of Houston, before the syncopated high hat gives the beat a bounce reminiscent of New York Drill production, but with a sense of levity. Despite “inflation making (him) crazy”, his instinct to stay grounded is “foundational like make a wish.” J. Walt immediately follows up with a verse conveying hunger, showing how he moved to the East Coast from the west to chase his dream after “seven years up in the game as a young’n”, ready to make a new start. Kelly closes out the track, reminding haters he can’t be slowed down, because he’ll be “cooking cordon in your bleu.”
Shot by Renee Lopez
Ian shines solo on the track “Hands Up” getting “really back in my element/rockin with my n*****s like a sediment ” over perfectly mixed boom bap drums and the richest chords on a Rhodes keyboard, showing a remarkable comfort in showcasing his penmanship, touching every emotion from grieving a lost friend, to finding peace while “driving through Alabama in my Mobile”, reflecting on life and loss. Intricately gliding through topics, Ian masterfully uses his craft to keep the listener engaged throughout the track. Without missing a step, the project shifts to the last song, as the drum pattern becomes more intricate, bringing the listener into “The Matrix” featuring Roux Shankle. Shankle starts the track with a low delivery, bringing the listener with a pulsating melody to bring the listener in. Ian slides in on the second verse, speaking on the pressures of creating one’s own reality despite feeling like the walls are closing in, and seeing the shades of gray where most would see black and white.
In summation, Ian Kelly’s A Summer Pack with Love is a strong EP to close out the summer. At six songs, just under twenty minutes, Kelly showcases versatile flows, melodies, and a wonderful ear for curation, bringing fellow West Coast artists on tracks to paint a complete picture of what summer in the Bay Area sounds and feels like. For fans of artists like Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, JID, J. Cole and more, I’m confident that they will find something new and refreshing in Ian Kelly’s discography.
