Never one to mince words, or play to anyone else’s rules, Angel Haze is probably one of the most important female rappers of our time. With a provocative lyrical genius and an unapologetic, no-shits-given attitude towards the music industry that she’s apart of, Haze challenges the fundamental values that we live by. Her latest track Impossible is no divergence, over a thumping, warlike beat she chants about power, race and her rising strength as an artist. Haze shoots hard hitting lines like,
“There is nothing that can’t hold me down/ that shit is impossible/ shit is impossible” and
“I am a sickness man/ I am a cancer/ I know the devil man/ I am his handler.”
Haze’s provocative force is not only limited to her lyrics however, she’s spoken out, in her own way, against restrictions placed on her music by the industry. After months of negotiation regarding the release date of her previous album Dirty Gold, Haze went behind her label’s backs and released the album directly to SoundCloud. On December 18 she posted a now infamous tweet.
The manoeuvre was successful, with the album being immediately removed from SoundCloud and given an official release date of December 30. She also discusses issues of immense social importance, such as suicide, racism and sexual abuse, drawing from her own personal experience to empower others. Her commanding confrontation of the man who sexually abused her, over Eminem’s Cleanin’ My Closet is moving, raw to the point that it is almost hard to listen to.
Thankfully the release of her latest track Impossible has been a little more conventional, which must be a relief for the label. There is talk that it might be part of a bigger set of work, and potentially even album, but we will have to wait and find out. Check it out below.