Big Lou

If flow is everything in hip-hop, I would have to say that the latest single and music video from Big Lou - titled simply “Redemption” - is a demonstration of versatility that every critic of the genre should be paying attention to this fall. In “Redemption,” Big Lou flirts with a darker side of the surreal trap music he’s been toying with in the studio this year, and while he’s still very much a rookie finding his place in the underground and its storied hierarchy, this is perhaps the first performance to feature his swagger as the main focal point of the recording. The piano in this mix is probably the most ominous element in the music outside of Big Lou’s lyrics, and its placement ahead of the percussion (and directly beside the lead vocal) indicates just how important its role is to the man of the hour. 

Where a lot of rappers outright refuse to invite larger than life tones into their music - mostly because of fears that they might fall short of matching the intensity of the backdrop - he’s going out of his way to make the instrumental aspect of “Redemption” just as important to the narrative as any of his own words are, if not a touch more when it really matters. 

While I like the music video for this single a lot, I would be lying if I said its use of surreal, dreamlike imagery wasn’t a little disturbing to take in alongside the lyrical content in the background. It’s unadorned with props and clearly the product of an independent entity, but this is why the guts of the beat are able to affect us with the degree of authenticity that they are in this specific scenario. Big Lou was shooting for something chilling here, and in that respect, he really hit the mark from all angles. 

 Cosmetically striking but not lacking in the substance that I had been craving from an up and coming indie rapper in 2020, “Redemption” is a great listen for hip-hop fans everywhere this autumn and definitely a good introduction to the music of Big Lou. 

Big Lou has got some hard work ahead of him that I could never be envious of, but even though he’s facing some truly gifted talent in the mainstream and underground at the moment, he shows enough skill here to keep his name on my radar. 

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Trace Whittaker

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

10/2020