Azjah - “Ride For Me”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 9

Pairs Well With…070 Shake, SZA, Rapsody

Compton rapper Azjah (pronounced like “Asia”) shares a surprisingly warm sound on her debut full-length Princess Diaries, a record that moves from trap to psych-rap modes and nicely eschews any straight mainstream threads for something more emotive and real. Her tone is a mix of rapping and singing, using effects to give her voice some ghostly distance instead of expectedly sharpening her raps. All in all, Princess Diaries is a lonely record both in its spaced beats and the reality that flows from Azjah’s lyrics, though there’s hope and confidence in her my-time-is-now statements throughout this consistently strong LP. (Kevin McStravick)