Daniel Stewart
In Chicago's ever-thriving and eclectic hip-hop scene, Melo Makes Music has established himself as one of the city's most exciting voices and his debut project, which premieres on The FADER today, is a testament to his vision. Over the course of nine songs, he moves seamlessly between hip-hop, R&B, and alt-rock, telling a story about trauma and mental health along the way.
"I've been working on this project for quite some time, even though a lot of it was conceived in a matter of a few weeks," Melo told The FADER. "The past few years have been an emotional journey to say the least and with this piece of music I aimed to capture all of those feelings. This release is in a lot of ways therapeutic. Music has always gone hand in hand with expressing one’s self, but this truly feels like I’m releasing this mixtape that I’m really proud of and also expelling all the burdening thoughts that kept me in my darkness. This is a project about mental wellness within the artist community but, also the black community. Illustrating a different narrative for the south side of Chicago where trauma lives around every corner."
Listen to Hold Your Tongue — which boasts features from Supa Bwe, CRNKN, Tatiana Hazel, and Givnni — below.