Brooklyn’s Ace Arty makes his Fashionably Early debut with a melodic bop entitled “Lowkey,” his second release of 2022. Conjuring up imagery of a Friday evening in New York City, Ace describes what seems like a good night in by any metrics on the chorus: “Henny and good weed, R&B, I just wanna keep it low-key.”
Ace’s falsetto and vocal layers sound super smooth over a delicious beat from producer Marcus Yates. The claps in this track hit at just the right time throughout and the pre-chorus is a masterclass of blending a raw acoustic guitar and piano notes. If you listen closely, a subtle yet warbling bassline appears in portions of the track, which reminds me of the beat on an Anderson .Paak deep cut, “The City.”
“Lowkey” may primarily be an R&B track, but I hear hints of Caribbean dancehall as well, especially with the line “gyal of the century” in the first verse, which makes sense as he was born in the Dominican Republic.
Already securing looks on Ones To Watch’s “Now Watching” playlist and making Fresh Finds: Hip-Hop with an earlier track, it’s clear Ace has some eyes on him as 2022 progresses.