Reviewed by Sam Hailes

After releasing her debut project 'The Human Xperience' in 2009, 21 year old Mel returned with this mix tape last year. Aiming to speak to youth culture, the songs are up to date in message and style. "Pretty Girls" is about inner beauty being more important than outward appearance while smooth ballad "Second 2 Nothing" sees Mel rap about putting God first and demolishing idols. The passionate vocals on 'One' are reminiscent of gospel duo Mary Mary while "Lessons From Timothy" is a short but effective speech to today's young people. The lyrics on 'Popular Demand' are often hard hitting and challenging, "We want the power but do we want the loss/We want the crown but do we want the sacrifice?" she asks on "Power". There are also plenty of references to today's popular music, "he likes to whip his hair like Willow", Mel raps in "Ms Understood". But musically, there's nothing out of the ordinary. The sampling of Calvin Harris' hit "Acceptable In The '80s" is a pleasant surprise and marks a creative end to a decent release by a promising artist.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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