A well-received statement from the latest Mavin signee.
The euphoria that greeted Magixx’s unveiling on social media was deafening. Alongside the customary hails and expected praise, also seen was a heave of relief from people who’ve come to know him for quite some time.
His eponymous debut itself unveils all that is to know about the Mavin signee. The five lovely tunes of the project showcase his natural rasp for delivering catchy bars and his preference for crafting endless earworms. These sparse abilities make his sonic world riveting and at the same time, a delightful one to live in.
With tracks like the emotive “Love Don’t Cost A Dime” gaining massive attention, we take a look at Magixx’s project, delving deep and compiling our takeaways from the project.
1. Magixx isn't afraid to show his emotions
In an age where the approach to romance often delves into objectification and fantasies about women's bodies and stories of heartbreak, Magixx panders to a different route. From the first track, “Love Don’t Cost A Dime,” we are enamored with Magixx’s genuineness as he explores the sweet feelings of love.
With an unfamiliar swagger and rawness, he flexes his vocal range, stretching his vocals at the same time, all in a bid to make his point known: “Love is crazy, yeah love is crazy, you’re amazing, yeah you’re amazing.”
That same rawness is drilled into the second song, “Like A Movie”. Floating on the bed of fluttering melodies and soft percussion, he leads us into a hypnotic romantic world where error doesn’t exist. We live through his songwriting, divulging his takes about his love interest. We know this with his buoyant, colorful delivery and sweet-sounding melodic style.
2. He has a seasoned voice and pen
Magixx’s elegant delivery on the first two tracks makes his artistry particularly intriguing. It’s easy to become absorbed into his world, yearning to know more about him and live through his intimate experiences. But it’s how he creates catchy moments on this 14-minute project that proves he’s nurtured his pen to a high quality.
Moments like the second verse on “Like A Movie” when he switches cadence, bursting into patois to adorn his love interest with more superlatives, are evidence of his songwriting prowess. Or when he zooms with a fearsome delivery towards the end of “Love Don’t Cost A Dime”. All these standout moments portray him as one artist who’s delicately honed his songwriting prowess.
3. He’s a student of dancehall
It might be hard to pin down Magixx’s core genre as the five-track project stretches his songcraft in different directions – Afrobeats, Alt-R&B and dancehall.
The latter, however, holds a weighty influence on his sound signature. There are times when he shapeshifts to deliver bits of his flows in patois.
By the time we descend into the third track, “Pati,” his singsong tone is gone as he flits and flings about in pockets of London’s percussion splashes. His mode here is menacing, taking on a head-nodding flow, obsessing about the differential quality of the parties he throws: “girls no dey form when they come through for my pati, all my girls dem naughty”.
4. He has an impressive ear for beats
All through this project, Magixx finds solace in spilling his emotions. The way he fuses sticky melodies into his songs invites us to fall in with his stories.
This resonating pattern would not have been possible without the great production, which serves as the perfect backdrop for his excellent delivery. In a way, it makes it easy for him to float, express, and declutter his mind as he did on “Motivate Yourself”. The piano keys on “Love Don’t Cost A Dime” enable the tickling harmonies he invents on the track, and melancholic synths on “Like A Movie” bolster his fluid flow.
