When one hears of the name Rel Princeton, the first thing that comes to ones mind is why choose the name Princeton? Why name yourself after a private Ivy League institution of higher learning? After a prestigious academy with selectivity in admissions and social elitism? Why? It is because that is exactly how he feels about his music. “I feel that I am in a class above a lot of mc’s as far as lyrical content, depth, and instrumentation” “I’m in a different league” says the 29 yr old artist recording out of Los Angeles, Ca by way of Manila, PH. He is unafraid to dive into emotions rarely seen in today’s commercial Hip Hop, his first single “Anti Everything”, off his soon to be released album entitled “Crash Landing” is a Rock inspired record where he blatantly speaks on everything he dislikes about the music industry from it’s trends to clichés.
I feel that I would be cheating myself as an artist if I didn’t speak my mind on records” “A lot of artists are so afraid to express their true feelings because they fear being unaccepted” says Rel. And it doesn’t stop there, he cuts even deeper on his 2nd single “Twisted Souls”, a reggae inspired record featuring Jah Free where he expresses his person- al views on both society and politics questioning everything from law enforcement to the presidential election.
“Obama’s in office cuz a rapper told you to vote” he raps on the record. But what really draws you to the record is hearing him speak of his love and concern for his homeland, after recently being hit with numerous floods and earthquakes he questions why the Philippines hasn’t garnered the same media coverage and support as other countries that had suffered similar tragedies during recent times.
But just when you think you have the direction of his album figured out, he releases his 3rd single “Crash Landing” which features the amazing vocals of RnB/Pop sensation Nikki Flores where he paints a picture of a relationship going through. What he calls “emotional turbulence”.
With 3 official singles already released ex- pect the album to be a classic in the making. Entirely produced by long time friend SpeeshBeats, the production consists on numerous live instruments ranging from drums, guitars, and even violin. “We wanted to take it the extra mile” says Speesh “Hip Hop gets often criticized for being too processed so it gets no realer than live sounds” With the help of only a small circle of musicians who share the same vision, expect the release of his album “Crash Landing” (with the grace of God) be “more than a movement but a revolution”.
