Dynamic Philadelphia vocalist, Pink Sweat$ has always been artist that lives up to the textural component in his moniker. Emerging as one of the softer, silkier, more unique aesthetics in all of music – but especially in R&B, Neo-Soul, acoustic, and his pop-adjacent roots – he’s done so with a tear of single and EP releases through the course of the last few years. Newest to that canonical list is The Prelude, and more than anything, it’s another vibrant example of his growth and his continued directionality in the realm of comfortable, albeit experimental listening.

 

Off the bat, The Prelude seems to exist as a vibrant exhibition that Pink Sweat$ is taking – successfully so – some new risks. Founded on an affinity for the strength of his range juxtaposed against the eternal softness of an acoustic guitar, Give It To Me instead opens the EP with a brash exploration of disco-funk instrumentation and production. In result, the 80’s vibe he sets as precedent, which at moments is reminiscent of a Beauty Behind The Madness era Weeknd, serves at peak speed in the drop of a roller-coaster. As the EP moves forward, the tracks move in ever slower, less anticipatory reverse, until they culminate back at the roller-coaster’s rising climb to the top of the drop.

 

Structurally, embedding so much textural fluidity into an EP that barely eclipses the 15-minute mark is a beautiful sign of things to come, because from the upbeat funk of Give It To Me, to the most gentle inclusion – Low – to the already established hit – 17 – it’s clear that Pink Sweat$ has all the range in the world, so proving that he has the artistic gall is nothing if not exciting for all the stylistic lanes he calls home to.