Velly Marsh never raps from the surface. With Vice Versa (Synergy), created in collaboration with LethalNeedle and Andrew the Anomalous One, the Las Vegas-based artist invites you to the psychological front line and holds your gaze there. The hauntingly ethereal prelude, built on minor-key piano progressions and spectral-with-soul vocal textures, sets the tone for a track that doesn’t rush to land punches—it stalks your subconscious instead.
When the beat kicks in, it doesn’t undercut the atmosphere. It strengthens the spine of the track while Marsh delivers larger-than-life bars bathed in conviction and presence. Every word is locked in—deliberate, consolatory, and fine cut with lyrical candour. His introspective depth, honed from years of disciplined self-reflection and influence from artists like Mach-Hommy and MF DOOM, translates into verses that don’t seek applause—they seek understanding.
Vice Versa (Synergy) isn’t built for passive listening. It leaves your attention on an unnerving knife edge as Velly Marsh dares you to strip your mind down as bare as he lays his own. This is boom-bap realism as a soul-baring artform—constructed with care, executed with precision, and mixed with the kind of restraint only a trained audio engineer who knows exactly where to hold back can manage.
You can lock into it repeatedly and still find new lyrical details carved into its structure. It’s not about volume or visibility—it’s about clarity. Through this lens, Marsh doesn’t just tell his story—he holds a mirror up to yours.
Vice Versa (Synergy) is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast.
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