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Review by I.S. Jones @isjonespoetry

The influence of hip-hop has stretched as far as South Africa, France, and even Australia (as the Aussies “blessed” us with Iggy Azalea). While the U.S. is one of the world’s main hub for all facets of this genre, Milwaukee isn’t the state that comes to mind when one thinks hip-hop, so it’s not unfair to say Shle Berry could very well be the trail-blazer of Milwaukee’s underground hip-hop scene. With the premiere of her debut mixtape “A Deal and a Degree,” Upcoming Hip-Hop was granted the privilege to an exclusive of her work. The following is an in-depth analysis of each track.

1.“More than Music” More than being Milwaukee’s finest, Shle Berry seems to come to her audience as the answer for real hip-hop. This intro track serves as a genesis, if you will, for Shle stepping into this genre. She calls out rappers for being materialistic, vain, and fake. She notes that saving people with this powerful tool is more important than making a bottom line. What I enjoyed most about this track is the dream-like samplings and the male voices which permeates from start to finish on this track. Family dynamics prove to be one of the main overarching themes in this mixtape. Mike, who appears to be her brother, has been the driving force for the rapper to reach out for music. Music in this track is salvation, redemption, and promise for better days. This song is one of my favorites in the mixtape most notably for the introspective ambiance created, the cadence, and flow. The tenderness in “More Than Music” sets the tone for the rest of the project.

2.“From Milwaukee” This track is especially important to the mixtape because it not only serves as time-stamp, but also a marker for the noise her region is making. Shle’s approach to her subject matter is cogent, continuing her stark assertions of other rap artists and how all they do to make sound and come with bravado claims, but have no means of backing it up. As stated before, I’ve never even heard of rappers coming out of Milwaukee, but with Shle Berry alone, I do hope there are more gems like her out there. With all of that being said, I absolutely did not like the sampling choice for this track. (Please note: this is my personal opinion.) While the rapper definitely makes it work for them, I found there was a disconnect between the tone set with the sampling and the actual rapping. If I were listening to only the sampling, I would assume this track would have been a parody. That being said, the actual rapping is crisp, smooth, and methodical. In a way, the sampling allowed me to focus more on the lyrics than anything else.

3.“Ride with Me” Instantly feels like a song inspired by Jadakiss and Trey Songz about hitting up the club and picking up girls. Oddly enough, this song reminds me quite a bit of Chingy’s “One Call Away,” if anyone remembers the era of hip-hop of baggy letterman jackets and Boost Mobile phones; here, Shle takes a page from hip-hop early 2000’s flow and sound. For that very reason, with the evolution of club bangers, to be honest, I found this song to be rather average. It seemed as though Shle Berry missed out on a prime chance to really flex and show us her wild side; this track was far too tamed considering its subject. This track, I believe, would do very well be on a radio rotation despite that.

4.“Where They Headed To” The previous track of ratchetness was a break from the genuine shift Shle brings to “A Deal and a Degree.” In this particular one, she talks about youth, dreams, and what growing up does with our dreams. It was Ursula K. LeGuin who said “the creative adult is the child who survived” and it is the child within each artist that allow them to explore the world by means of painting, singing, poetry dancing, rapping and the list goes on. The message in this song I feel resonates with my generation most notably because many of us wish to forge our path in the world, but don’t want to do it the same way our parents did. We want to have meaningful jobs that will pay our bills while contributing to the greater good. Her words move like brushstrokes throughout the song—concise, attention grabbing, commonplace. At the conclusion of the track, the audience is brought into a tender moment hearing a little girl sing“Happy Birthday” to the rapper (mentioned as Ashley), thus establishing a humanizing tone; placing the young girl singing at the end of the track allowed the listeners entrance into who the rapper is when the music ends. It was refreshing and I appreciated the privilege to see the facets of the musician’s life permeate song track to track.

5.“Anybody” From losses to triumph, Shle empowers her audience and reminds them they can be anything or anyone they so desires. Once again, I felt as though the artist played it far too safe in terms of lyrics and sampling of beats. This track is reminiscent of something I would hear at a 5th grade dance or graduation. The subject matter is necessary and undoubtedly is a reprieve from the tired “get money, get bitches” refrain hip-hop artists are often stuck in, but for that very reason the artist must take it a step further in order to stand out above all the static. I felt as though this song really had the chance to stand out but fell flat.

6.“I Don’t Love You” Tender piano melodies breaking into a strong gospel-like singing, I felt Shle took a page out of Kanye’s playbook. Powerful, as though she truly went inside and pulled a piece of her spirit out to lay bare. The track talks about the disintegration of a relationship and how the speaker fell short as a lover. What makes this track so successful is how the sampling choice takes the song into another plane of brilliance. I could play this on repeat and never get bored. What a blessing this song is.

7.“Wonderwall” Here, the mixtape takes another sensual turn--some music for the ladies from Milwaukee’s Stud Coalition Representative. Shle reiterates the title of this project’s name by taking us back to our dorm crush. One of this rapper’s greatest is the ability to make ordinary happenings into sexy, melodic moments.

8.“My Shit” Another solid club banger right here. When I roll up to the function with me and my friends, this is the track I wish to be playing in the background; aggressive and daring beat in the back, this song makes you feel confident the night is mine for the taking. Instantly one of my favorites in the mixtape for getting a bit risky with its content.

9.“Rise To The Occasion” Raising life questions, Shle talks about success, the desire for recognition, and what one must go through in order to achieve it. Taking a critical approach to her content, Shle here seeks to do more than entertain her audience, but awaken a dialogue within them. This additional layer to conscious rap is something that perhaps the current wave of hip-hop is lacking and I for one am glad Shle is here to lay it on us.

10.“Graduation” At the conclusion of “A Deal and a Degree,” Shle takes the word ‘graduation,’ often associated with the academic sphere and shows us that graduation is a movement and growth of the self. The track moves between the rapper and a man in an interview speaking on one’s capabilities. It starts with one brick and from that one step, one laid brick, we achieve self-actualization.

Final thoughts: I was generally unimpressed with most of the samplings choices and this was my biggest qualm about the entire mixtape. I thought she missed out on a so many great opportunities to really bring it and show us what Milwaukee is bringing to the hip-hop dinner table. Often times, I found the sampling to be too precious when considering the lyrical content; if the lyrics are delicate or honest in their approach, the sampling choices must be careful to not be too safe or play into the most obvious choices. In the song “I Don’t Love You” I felt should have opened up the mixtape and set the tone from there. It would have been nice to see Shle do something to the effect of “Sing about me / I’m dying of thirst,” how Kendrick matches the feelings he sets out to paint with his lyrics but allows the melody to take it a step further. As stated before, I felt as though “More Than Music” set the tone for the mixtape, and “I Don’t Love You”, while it would have completely changed the progression, I think this latter track would been a better move to go with simple because it is the most powerful track in the project. "More Than Music" wouldn’t have worked at the end because “Graduation” really brings us home, and I felt its placement would have under-minded the brilliance of the track. Shle’s flow is crisp and smart; I never got tired of her going in with her rhymes. What we have here is a rapper who is still finding their sound and navigating the world with their music, but there is a precious spark evolving into a flame here. I am interested in seeing what Shle Berry has in store for us next and I hope you are too.

Connect with Shle Berry
Facebook.com/ShleBerryMusic | Twitter.com/ShleBerry
Youtube.com/ShleBerry22