For those that know of my past life, it’s common knowledge I am as musically inclined as I am dapper. Beyond my own musical abilities I always had a good ear for music, and friends that are artists have often enlisted my services when crafting their new work. I don’t know, music has always been a focal point of life for me. It’s power to insight various feelings and moods, how it resonates, how it can inspire, even the visuals its sounds can create. I truly feel music is one of the unparalleled experiences in life.
So with all of that now said, there is an artist most of us are late to the party on. I don’t happen to mean fashionably late either. This is close to one of those instances where it may not have made sense for us to miss this. I have mentioned it in the past, that Atlanta and Insecure are the best scored shows on television. I think each song plays off of every scene in both series perfectly. Atlanta tends to incorporate a decent amount of older southern hip hop to set the tone for the Atlanta atmosphere. Insecure on the other hand tends to break artists and records we may not be familiar with yet. Using a more emotional scoring to compliment the feelings being portrayed in the episode. If you were like me you discovered this artist by either watching Insecure or listening to the Season 2 soundtrack.
The Juice is one of the standout songs from Season 2. The synths, pads and arpeggiator that open the song are literally flawless. And HERO coasts over the record providing all the feels necessary to make this an instant favorite. This is one of those records that has the mood of you driving up the highway on a late night in thought about someone. It’s crazy. It’s rare for me to hear a record and artist for the first time , proceed to be taken back, and then feel the need to find the rest of their work immediately. That’s how it happened for me with HERO, and this is how I discovered his EP “VHS Pop”.
VHS Pop released in 2016 and honestly I am not sure how any of us missed it. For those that haven’t heard it my next couple of statements are probably going to shock you. The project is nostalgic for me. Not necessarily due to the sound of the project either. VHS Pop is literally in the same class as the first projects we got from Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Bryson Tiller and Cocaine 80’s. For Tiller I mean Trapsoul not necessarily Killer Instinct. Also for Tiller and Ocean it took lengthier projects to accomplish this feat. However Cocaine 80’s and The Weeknd did things the exact same way. Short well rounded projects that can be played continuously through and through.
I am highly anticipating what HERO does next. I truly want to see him follow up this project with as good if not better music as he continues to grow as an artist. Check HERO out immediately I promise he won’t disappoint. I will do you the favor of linking you the places to find him, enjoy.
