Brandon Mitchell's latest single, "No Gloves," is a breathless reminder of what raw, dirty, unadulterated hip-hop can and should sound and feel like. Hailing from the streets of Kansas City and shaped in the creative crucibles of Los Angeles, Brandon's new release is a manifesto.
Dancing as a powerhouse force who's juggled roles on So You Think You Can Dance and on film (Step Up Revolution), it may seem too good to be true that Brandon's journey as a hip-hop artist goes as deep as it seems to. In "No Gloves," he gets into the ring, not as a showman but as an oracle, removing the armor of artifice to reveal something down and bone-deep, cerebral, and irrevocably true.
Constructed on the bones of gangsta rap and conscious hip-hop, "No Gloves" oscillates between street-corner realism and verbal dexterity. It's the type of track that makes you sit up and listen. Brandon doesn't glamorize the grind but rather reveals it. Alertness is required so that you do not slip while standing ten toes down in a world that is always daring you to. The production is cold with icy minimalist aesthetics, no frills, just beats engineering Brandon's vocals to slice neatly through the track with a steady balance and cadence you cannot ignore. He's not trying to shine but speaking from a life lived. Each bar lands like a punch without gloves, direct, bruising, and essential.
"No Gloves" transcends through its layered humanity. Brandon is a survivor. They ranged from the studio to the stage to the streets, and his path was one of transformation born of pain and persistence. And it is that transformation whose echoes you can hear on this track. This is hip-hop puréed to its primal essence. With "No Gloves," Brandon Mitchell is not entering the rap game quietly via soft-spoken whispers or meek under-the-breath declarations. Mitchell is swinging for purpose, and every hit gets counted.
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