Reported by Imani Wj Wright
Growing up, many of us were placed in positions where authority and the conscious respect of authority was emphasized. An early example of this are our teachers and principals in school. Walking in a straight line, raising our hands for permission, calling our teacher Mr. & Ms. Now, discipline is good for people, and adds a certain level or order and decorum to society. Though, in the realm of all of this, some may become conditioned to becoming “followers” or complacent bystanders. Lacking a true understanding of control and assertion. So used to being told what to do, that you lose your sense of direction, due to the fact that someone is always steering for you. That’s dangerous. To lose our creativity is to lose our independence. It’s time to take back your wheel. The world is yours, and Nas doesn't have to be the only person to remind you of that. Anthony Ayala, known professionally as, TheRealTony, gives us a project that screams confidence, transparency, and genuine self-strength.
While listening to Ayala's two-song project, The World is Yours, it quickly becomes apparent that you’re listening to an artist who has a plan and soundscape that is developed with intent. On the opening track, No Secrets, the track opens up the project with a phone ringing. Now before we get into the piece, let’s look at the symbolism that one may create from this ringing. Being that this is the intro, and first sound that we hear in this 2-cut journey, it immediately draws us in. It makes us ask ourselves a gamut of questions. Why is the phone ringing? Who is being called? Will it get answered? The suspense can be chilling if you let it boggle your mind for the first few seconds. We are provided with a temporary relief once we hear the phone finally answered by a woman on the other end. It is obviously not Ayala or his featured artist, Papidubz (who is on both pieces) who answers- but it is surely those two who respond. The piece gives us several vibes. Lyrically, this could be described as Emo, while the delivery is in the form of Hip-Hop, along with the instrumentation. Going back to the aforementioned statement of Tony having an “intent,” you can hear there is an unapologetic amount of reverb prevalent on both vocals. Some artists try to hide their usage of autotune, some try to make it light, but on this joint it works, and it works. It becomes an easier listen once you are drawn into the style/finesse that both artists provide here “There ain’t no secrets baby...” The drums, intandem with the hook are a great showing of the musicality these artists were displaying.
On song 2 of 2 on this project, we get a bit of a change in the delivery and there’s a serious juxtaposition of beauty and fury. The beauty directly derives from the opening keys, as the fury is persistent throughout the verses. A clear discovering of these artists’ intensity can be found on, Waste No Time. And the title is fitting, right after the opening keys,there is not hesitation with bringing the verses in full throttle. We see a bit of a different side of the project here, but it does not come off as “surprising.” You could hear this kind of delivery building up from the somewhat more subdued atmosphere of the first one.
Ayala told SwanoDown:
“I wanted people who experienced the same situations to know I also had the same experiences as them… I write thinking of situations I had and that my audience experienced or write things the audience wants to hear.”
Check out, The World is Yours, Below:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5tSFMLa5z0yPIs195ahQJG?si=NnTnopPKQeC3u0IQMsspWw
Ayala on Instagram:
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