One thing is immediately clear after pressing play on Marlowe 3, the third installment of emcee Solemn Brigham and producer L’Orange joint project: these guys are having a blast making music together.
Marlowe 3, the finest entry in the series to date, is 18 tracks of bouncy, horn-laden instrumentals courtesy of Seattle’s own L’Orange. These colorful soundscapes provide a natural canvas for Solemn’s energetic pen and melodic delivery. He rhymes with a permanent smile, but these tracks aren’t all sunshine. Take album highlight, “My People”, where Solemn details the travails he faced en route to triumph:
“Came out the well Rang on the bell Live what I talk, I don’t do what you say, you ain’t been where I fell”
Songs like “Light Trip,” “Past Life,” “Hold the Crown,” and “Clarity“, highlight Solemn’s hook skills and L’Orange’s soulful sample chops that manage to sound fresh and dusty at once.
Solemn thankfully owns mic duties on most songs, but a few friends join the bar fest. Guests include Blu, Joell Ortiz, and Deniro Farrar. Each delivers a slick verse, but none steal the show; his growing confidence as an emcee allows Solemn to go toe to toe with the greats. After dropping their debut in 2018, the titular duo remain in impressive form. Solemn is aware of the rapper-producer chemistry that got them here, a positive sign for those of us hoping these two continue their dynamite run:
“They said I’d never be here without L’Orange I told them facts could never do me no harm”
Released: October 28, 2022 words by Alec Siegel