Hip Hop Habit: Tru Quality
posted in: Features • Urban
Just as the Pacific mist floats into the shadows of Oregon’s dense coastal forests, the sounds of Tru Quality will seep effortlessly through your playback medium of choice and set your mind at ease. Seductive, chill and fresh, young emcees Wingate and Saint write love-laced devotions that have the catch and coax criteria of Top 40 material written all over them. Their inviting beats should come as no surprise considering some of their influences, but where Tru Quality really separate themselves from the pack is with the humid hybrid of hip hop and R&B they’ve achieved. For anyone hoping autotune was an ’00 endemic forever exterminated with the advent of a new decade, think again. Tru Quality have used the tool to their advantage”churning out crooning choruses and the occasional melodic interlude in their raps without sounding annoyingly robotic.
In what the boys deem their flagship single, Weekend Lovers paints a clear picture as to where they’re coming from both in terms of geography and mentality. On top of an overcast beat swelling with sluggish percussion and a water-damaged guitar riff reflective of the abundant gray skies above their native Portland, the duo illuminates the intrepid drug experimentation and heated exchanges of temporary lust defining the early twenties stretch of most college careers: We could take it slow like we OD’d on Vicodin and The weekend’s/ when we get to freakin’/ put my hands all over your physique and¦ Lyrically the song remains buoyant, but TQ waste no opportunity to display their knack for mellow flow and hook writing, two elements that if cultivated properly are sure to take them deep into the game.
Miss Right explores the same theme of feminine chase, but this time from the perspective of monogamous sacrifice as the young men take turns placing their dream woman on a generous pedestal. The best example of the group’s soft sound can be found here, matching bashful lyrics with a persistent cymbal ride and elevating synth organs to reach the unrivaled climax of surpassing lust and entering the sublime realm of love. TQ demonstrate an unexpected romantic wisdom beyond their years on this track, wisdom welcome after the insatiable indulgence audible in Weekend Lovers”They say that love is blind/ I guess we read in braille.
Poetic schmoozing is just one of their talents. You can check out the rest of them by downloading their free Collect N’ Cool mix tape right here. These kids really are just that, an incredibly entertaining thought. With some more life under their belts there’s no telling how far their potential will reach. Listen to their material in the player below, and let us know if your love affair with their tunes will last past the weekend in the comments below!