Rapper Mach-Hommy Mixes Underground with Introspective Soul in His New Album Balens Cho (Hot Candles)
By: Marco Piazza
East Coast Love
Mach is a Haitian American rapper born in Newark, New Jersey. In 2012 he and underground rappers at the time Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn formed the label Griselda Records, operating out of Buffalo, NY. The label also has signed up and coming rapper Benny the Butcher, who has close ties to the three. Earlier this year, Westside and Mach released the album Pray for Haiti together, which has for the most part been critically successful, featuring two of the East Coast’s top underground lyricists.
New Album, Same Mach
In his new full-length release, Balens Cho (Hot Candles), Mach delivers stylish flows over soulful yet stripped-back instrumentals. If you have listened to any of his previous works like Tuez-Les Tous or Wap Konn Joj!, or have been a fan of his for a while, this is his bread and butter. While as a diehard fan you are not getting anything too different or experimental, it does not have to always push boundaries if the music is done right. In his newest release, the rapper provides nothing short of quality bars matched with vintage sounds.
Soul-Sampling
The Haitian-American rapper provides smooth and warm samples in his beats that have a nice vinyl crack to them that gives a nice contrast to his relentless flows. I personally really enjoy the warped dreamy sound of the track SELF-LUH. In addition, the rapper brings up some important topics in the song, talking about taking care of your personal health, watching what you put in your body, etc.
The album provides small skits that play between the songs, which refer to the exploitation of his home country of Haiti through heartless business tactics. Mach’s serious delivery and hard-hitting lyrics are a key highlight on the track MONEY MAGNETS, among others. Listen to the album here, and follow Mach on Spotify. For more music reviews and content, check out the rest of the site.
