By Millan Verma

Atlanta’s Lule has enough vocal finesse to lift a heart as quickly as he can break one. His range is malleable and can lull listeners to sleep then snap them back to life at the drop of a dime. His music resides on the plain currently led by Brent Faiyaz — painfully emotional r&b style singing over dark, deep-house trap production. He has been releasing music since 2015 and, back in February, managed to get on a DJ-Drama produced track with Rick Ross and Westside Gunn. 

On his newest single, “Dead Inside,” Lule transports listeners to the depths of his inner struggle, as he references childhood trauma, his shaky romantic relationship, and how his demons have numbed him. Producers Sahara and Money Every teamed up to craft a bellowing bass-heavy beat that is led melodically by Lule’s background vocals and supported by a warped techno flute. The menacing 808s elicit a feeling that parallels Lule's distraught lyrics — conflict, turmoil, and being fed up with being fed up all the time. The most impressive thing about this track is the vocal mix. The panned echoes and staccato adlibs create a sort of force-field around the song, trapping the listener in Lule’s dizzying world until it's over. 

It is always extremely sad to see artists in pain like this, but when someone is able to express themselves as truly and as beautifully as Lule does in this song, it makes it a lot easier for us listeners to understand.