Dizzy by AR Paisley

Toronto Music Archive

Paisley has been on fire in the year with him giving us some of the best music he has ever put out. His global reach began to surge after the death of the late and great Sidhu Moosewala. Paisley was good close friends with him and people knew they were collaborators but the world is weird sometimes. It takes someone’s death for people to give someone flowers and also show their fellow creators any love. It's incredible to see Paisley gaining so much attention and success in just the past few months. His music is just so raw and pure, with no fake overly fun hooks pointless lyrics, and a vibey beat. Paisley's music conveys something authentic, genuine, and powerful. He's really carved out a niche for himself. His music is lyrical but in a slight drill mixed with a melodic rap-type style. It's almost like the what late and great King Von used to make with "Crazy Story" and what Tee Grisley has been doing in the past few months with his "Robbery" series, which has gotten a total of 5 parts up to this point. The music's style and structure are similar, but Paisley does it in his own unique way, adding a more memorable aspect to it. It has a more radio appeal and a singable aspect to it. It’s something the people can actually resight at a show, it’s got a melody to it. The track begins with a powerful piano instrumental that sets the tone for the rest of the song. Paisley's flow in this track is fantastic; it has a bouncy feel to it and just flows like water over the beat. I also appreciate Paisley's use of his natural voice; he is one of the few artists who perform his music in his own voice. There's no crazy voice transformation or autotune to help push the message home. It amplifies the impact of the lyrics and deepens the meaning of the music when an artist keeps their natural speaking voice. That is because when telling a story or spitting some deep lyrics you want it to feel like a story and not a song with a story in it. I believe that having an overly high-pitched or a very altered voice will detract from the song's message. That is why a lot of music isn't even intermitted these days; people simply listen to the vibes. Paisley has been through a lot in his life, and his music reflects that. It's difficult not to listen to him because he has so much relatable content. I feel so connected to the music because I've been through some of the things he's mentioned, and it just struck a chord with me. I definitely see Paisley as someone who has opened up a new sub-genre of lyrical rap, one that fits the modern generation and has a lot of mainstream potentials. I'm excited about his next full-length project. I feel like he needs to work toward dropping something massive in 2023. It would definitely propel his career even further and strengthen that core fanbase while building new ones on top.

Written by Maxim Bayarsky