About a year ago, I visited a spot called The Lounge in the
Deep Ellum area of Dallas.I went there to meet up with one of last
years’ features, Rage Almighty.When I pulled
up, Rage was posted up outside the venue with a couple of others, waiting for
the events’ promoter and patrons to arrive (much to our chagrin, the event
began about an hour and a half later than it’s scheduled time). As we were standing outside conversing about a
wide range of topics from hip-hop music to women and everything in between, I
became aware that one of the other guys in the circle was an emcee as
well.He handed me his album entitled Pure: Reflections of Self and Beyond;
when I listened to it a few days later I was impressed and was impelled to
write a review on it.After that review,
a full length feature was almost inevitable.So here we are, allow me to introduce Original Soul.
The Dallas, TX
native is no novice; Brandon
“Original Soul” Medley has been at this music game for 15-plus years.Original Soul used to go by the name of
T.L.O.S. which is an acronym for “The Last Original Soul”.But, because most people didn’t understand what
T.L.O.S. stood for, he changed his name back in 1997, right before he went on
stage.His work is heavily influenced by
artist such as Common, Talib Kweli, D’Angelo and the Roots.His eclectic list of influences might offer
an explanation about how Original Soul can be this flexible as an artist.Not only is Original Soul a rapper, but her
is also a vocalist and a producer.His
sound is like nothing you’re going to hear on regular urban radio at the
moment.Original Soul has a mission to
deliver good, quality music with substance and a positive message. The mission has grown along with the man
navigating the expedition.
Original Soul is one of those artists for the everyday
person; he is a voice of the people.As
oppose to rhyming about materialism and getting caught up in the gangster, drug
dealing and misogynistic content that dominate the airwaves, Original Soul
rhymes about subjects that regular people can relate to.Original Soul music covers a wide range of
topics from homelessness to spousal abuse.In his tenure in the underground rap scene, Original Soul has put
together a pretty impressive resume.He
has appeared on numerous mixtapes including, "NOMMO: Lyrical Alchemy Vol.1", "Screamix Vol. 1",
The 1,000 Mile Dash Series, and "Dude Where's My Shades (M.A.R.Z. Mixtape)
Vol. 2".Original Soul has also
released two critically accepted LPs, The
Glass Album and Pure: Reflections of
Self and Beyond.And aside from
producing for himself and other artists, he also produced the music score for
the Soul Rep Theatre Company's stage play "Noxide Square" (2002) which received
great reviews from critics for the Dallas Morning News.He’s well-rounded and is making plans to
release new music in 2010.
Original Soul is an artist in a class of his own.Over the years he has grown a lot as a man
and as a musician.With that growth come
maturity; but he remains dedicated to be a voice for the unheard and speak the
truth to the unaware.He continues to
prove why he was once called, the last original soul.
