Forever, the latest short-form statement from Acktual Lee, went out on blast to his 11k+ monthly Spotify listeners; an international legion of fans who naturally gravitate around his slick, luxe, soul-infused sound and want to keep his polished new releases in their orbit.
With old school soul brushing up against the shimmer of 00s Jay-Z-esque hip-hop, Forever is a magnetic meditation on the artist’s perpetual, unflinching desire to keep burning bright and the ground beneath him razed with his charisma and conviction, both of which are on full display in the release as he waxes lyrical with superlative metric precision.
The bars land like they’ve been simmering in gold; each one gilded with introspection, resilience and raw passion, while the instrumental foundation glides with the cathartic tempo of a summer cruise through emotional epiphany. The sampled harmonies amplify the soul of the track to luminous heights without ever crowding the conviction behind the mic. Forever isn’t a track that demands you soak in the lyrical gold; it coaxes you into a state of susceptibility by using a cathartic tempo to juxtapose the passion in the bars.
Every second of the release affirms that Acktual Lee’s sonic direction is sharp enough to slice through any static left lingering in hip-hop’s past. With momentum like this, there’s no risk of him fading from the radar.
Forever is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast