Mister ATL has been killing the game with his recognizable blend of urban inspirational, southern, and hip-hop contemporary soul. He released his album titled “Love, Life, and Aquarius.” This album begins with the song “Kut Klose” Kut Klose has the elements of feel-good music with a classic lyrical delivery. This record was a great opener to the album because it highlights not only the potential theme of the album, but it showcases how Mister ATL has a strong old school rap vibe to his style of music. “Kut Klose” is just the beginning of what to expect from this project. Both “Vows” & “Beauty” both showcased a new dimension to Mister ATL’s artistry. He ventured off into the love department of rap music, giving us a clue on why he decided to name this album what he titled it. Mister ATL tackles on a smooth-sailing R&B element to his solid lyrical ability in not only both of those records but the single “The World”.
Listening to these 3 songs you begin to think of a special someone who holds true to you. MISTER ATL takes on melodic arrangements with strong emotional conviction, adding chemistry in the mix to create a strong connection between the listener and the music. You feel every note on this album with his powerful dynamics. This album has so many different elements to this project but MISTER ATL knows how to stick to the root of the project while keeping the lustrous and suave aesthetic. One of my personal favorite songs on this album was the record “All Night (Interlude). This small interlude gave me major 90s-early 00s R&B vibes. The erotic, passionate, and smooth arrangements of this made me highly invested in the album and it left you with an unsatisfying abrupt ending that had you longing for more. It was so good you wish it was longer but Mister ATL makes up for it with the next record “Honeymoon”. Listening to “HoneyMoon” continued this time-traveling aesthetic back to the early good days. These the type of songs where you can relive the moments of crushing on that specific person. Mister ATL caters to the ladies but also gives the fellas something they can devote to their loved ones.
The next track that came in was “The Call” Interlude and what I loved most about this was how it was setting us up for the perfect transition in the album. In this interlude, there’s dialogue in the form of a phone call requesting for Mister ATL to change the vibe of the album from his love jams to something we can groove to. Mister ATL delivers the wishes with the next transitional record “Heavens Groove”. He goes for a different approach with the lyricism and feel of the track, yet he still brings joy to the listener. I believe “Heavens Groove” represents the “Life” in the album’s title as opposed to the other records representing the “Love”. The next song that transitions in was “Dreaming”, A record that showcased the MC skills Mister ATL demonstrated at the beginning of the album. “Dreaming” was a fantastic record that really highlights the multiple dimensions Mister ATL can deliver as a rapper.
The closing record on the album, “Born Sinner” was a raw representation of the story that Mister ATL lived. He allows his listener to become invited into his journey and the thoughts of him as a rapper and human. It showcased vulnerability along with real raw hip-hop. Mister ATL delivered an amazing album that showed us how he has the ability to move between different characters and express a vast range of emotions. This album showed us he can move with the real rap greats and even melodize with the R&B classics. “Love, Life, and Aquarius” was a solid execution and great offering from a shining star undoubtedly.
You can listen to the emotionally prevailing “Love, Life, and Aquarius” here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Mister ATL! Let’s talk about your background. How was it growing up? I grew up in a traditional American household with West African influences. My beautiful mother Brenda was born in the states (Columbus, Ga) and my father Henry Sr. was an immigrant from Gambia, Africa. So I had the best of both worlds from music, culture, education, family traditions, and even fashion. Having the African culture and traditional American values under one roof had an impact on not only my musical choice but also my style I grew into. I was born in Atlanta, Ga and raised on the east side of Decatur, Ga in a strong Christian household where both of my parents were heavily involved in the church and community. I, my younger brother Quinten and my older sister Sharhonda were kept active in church, youth groups, school activities, community events, plays or anything that my mother knew was beneficial. I grew up understanding that faith, family, and education was a top priority for me and my siblings. I come from a long line of scholars, entrepreneurs, and college graduates so I knew that if I can conquer my academics then I could have the mental stability to lay the foundation for a successful career in any field of my choice rather than pursuing a college degree or becoming a world-famous musician. They are very supportive and I can not thank GOD enough for them. What inspired you to pursue music? My inspiration behind pursuing music is like an open novel, it is still being written as we speak. I've been inspired to pursue music because I was pushed at a young age to stay active doing something. I participated in activities that were not only beneficial to my cognitive growth but also activities that I now use for my creative appetite. So making the choices early on to join the church youth choir, dance team, storytelling /writing club, and school marching band all helped mold my love and passion for creating audio and creative art. I knew that if I wanted to become the best songwriter or the dopest lyricist or even the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen I had to have a foundation to build on. I had to learn my craft, I had to learn how to read, play and write music (marching band) I also had to learn to choreograph my moves (dance) and learn to vocally express my thoughts and writing (choir, writing, and storytelling club). Over the years I have grown not only as an artist but as a man of GOD. Now I know that my inspiration has changed from being a worldwide superstar to being the inspiration that someone else can look up to and be influenced to embark on their musical journey. If I know that God has blessed me with the gift that can inspire people worldwide through the art of storytelling, testimony, and love then I'm inspired every day to make music. Let’s talk about your album “Love, Life, and Aquarius”. What was the theme behind this project? Does Aquarius have any connection to do with your zodiac sign- if so does that play any influence on the theme of this album? Love, Life, and Aquarius is my debut studio album and took over 2 years to complete including writing, production, and concept mapping. It was a labor of love and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but, it is finally here. The theme behind the project is within the name, it is a journey through the birth of something new ( Aquarius), the (life) in which we live to make decisions bad or good that pushes us to find the (love) we've been seeking. Yes, Aquarius is my zodiac sign on January 25th, which to me as I was writing the album is a representation to the start of something new and beautiful. Which song was the most challenging for you to create on “Love, Life, and Aquarius” and why? The most challenging song to create off the album was probably Honeymoon produced by Terra Tunez feat Dhall. It was challenging writing a love song that not only grown-ups could listen to but kids could dance and enjoy as well. In the climate musically that we live in, there is little to not clean RnB or love songs in the market. And out on top of that the fact that I am an urban inspirational artist people automatically look sideways at me when they hear an album of love songs from a faith-based artist. I knew to go into creating the Honeymoon track I had to take a different approach. My wife and I never had the chance to have a honeymoon so I wrote the song from the perspective of what our ideal honeymoon getaway would sound like, what it would feel like, and what other couples and lovers around the world would jam to on their special day. I wrote it with the idea of creating a tune that older people would understand with certain references like "I got the green light" or "As long as that ring on your finger we gonna make it boom" but, also keeping it listener-friendly for my younger fans to understand that in order to celebrate a honeymoon with all the perks of it you have to commit and get married first. There are three different versions of Honeymoon that I worked with my engineer Bao from Mixology Studios but, I think the version on the album came out perfectly. How important were the Interludes on this album and the chronological placement of them? Well, the album is like a novel and is sectioned off into three parts or acts. The interlude "All Night" and "The Call" keep the story flowing for the listeners. So to understand the purpose of the interludes is to break down the sections. The intro "Kut Klose" serves as the Aquarius "Act 1" of the album which is the birth or the start of something new. The first 5 tracks after "Kut Klose" are "Act 2 -Love" so each of these tracks tells the story of dreaming about love and what you say if you ever found it. "Vows," is about finding love and making love with your spouse. "Beauty" is admiring love and showing the love you will do anything for it. "The World", which ties into the first interlude "All Night" is where the albums protagonist and his love went from sweethearts to dating to engaged, getting married to tying the knot and the now they are ready to embark on their honeymoon ."Honeymoon" which is the aftermath of making a leap of faith to the commitment and now you can celebrate two strings attached which ends Act 2. "Act 3- Life starts after "The Call" interlude shows our albums protagonist receiving the call that makes him revert to the old him. Kicking off "Heaven's Groove", and "Dreaming", lastly leading into the outro of Act 3 which he then reminisces on his life and love on the track "Born Sinner". What’s next for you Mister ATL? We're looking forward to hearing from you in the new year! Currently, I am working on launching my Love and Life and Aquarius concert series and tour at the top of the year 2020, which will feature performances from some dope artists and the entire album performed live with skits and creative visuals, Details will be posted on my social media and official website soon. I am also continuing to work on outreach and ministry work toward my nonprofit The T.A.L.K Project LLC, business Davies La Fourth LLC & Mister ATL Music and church Hope for Tomorrow within the community and city of Atlanta. I love giving back rather that's through music or charity work. I am also giving away academic scholarships in celebration of my new shirt line "Black, Handsome and Educated" through my clothing line "Born Sinner Dying Saved." This will be for male students looking to attend college or trade school. In regards to new music, I am back in the studio working on remixes for the album, cuts, as well as new music for the New Year. I am also looking to collab with various artists and look forward to some hot features on the way. Lastly, you can expect new music, more ministry, and a #1 album and single on billboard occupied by platinum plaques all next year and I give GOD the glory in advance.