Suriel’s hunger for success shines through on the “Quarantine Tape”
It’s hard to believe when you listen to his polished sound, but Lynn emcee Suriel didn’t start putting out music until 2017.
He began his career by turning heads with the release of his debut project “Rise” under the name Wilson. He then changed his name to Suriel and gave us his breakout project “Blank Slate”, which earned recognition as one of the seven best Boston hip-hop albums of 2018 by WBUR’s Candace McDuffie.
After using 2019 to promote “Blank Slate” while continuing to hone his craft in the studio, Suriel has dropped off the appropriately titled “Quarantine Tape” to hold us over while we continue to social distance. It’s a collection of four songs that were released periodically on SoundCloud, and each record has tremendous replay value. As impressive as “Blank Slate” was, the growth over the past two years is apparent on this project.
Much like his past music, hustle and motivation are the driving forces behind the lyrics. Suriel’s hunger is felt from the first track, “Want It Bad”, where he touches on the sacrifices he’s made, the loss of his grandmother, and his endless desire to turn negatives into positives through hard work.
“Chase It” features my favorite beat on the tape. Credit to Katapult on the production. The listener is immediately drawn in with an Andre 3000 sample from OutKast’s classic “Da Art Of Storytellin’”, and Suriel keeps our attention by flowing perfectly over the captivating instrumental with some honest and self-reflective lyrics:
“When I look into the mirror that’s my real opponent”
“Motivation got me missing time with family/ Hundred tracks got me questioning my sanity”
“Do it for myself or should I try and push humanity?”
“Double Back (Freestyle)” presents some more powerfully confident yet humble lyrics lyrics combined with top-notch wordplay. “Fall” contains a bar that perfectly summarizes the EP. “I just made a classic, made the shit look like a layup”. Suriel has mastered his art and become comfortable enough with his sound that it’s begun to appear effortless.
Be sure to follow Suriel’s Soundcloud as well as his Instagram @suriel781 to keep up with new releases. In the meantime enjoy these four new tracks!