Hot out of the publicity boom that her scene-grabbing turn on “Good Flirts” with Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar has caused, Momo Boyd comes with Miss Michigan with actual momentum, but more importantly, actual identity. Certain artists employ a breakout feature as a short-cut into trend-chasing. Boyd does otherwise. Instead of pushing herself even further into rap adjacent territory, she turns inward and presents a project that is based on heritage, self-identification, emotional work, and Americana storytelling. The EP is less of a business follow-up than it is an artistic thesis statement, this is herself when she is in the spotlight all to herself. The enticing thing about Miss Michigan is that it is so sure of itself in breaking the categories of genres.
Throughout seven songs, Boyd combines country, folk, soft-rock, pop, and subtle R&B without a sense of indecisiveness. The acoustic textures are not ornamental, but lived-in, the guitar sounds are warm and emotional, and the arrangements do not leave her voice with too much air to do the emotional heavy lifting. The production is restrained, a quality so many more recent releases lack. The record puts its faith in melody, phrasing, and atmosphere, rather than cluttering up songs with maximalist drums or synthetic clutters. That faith is rewarded. All the sonic decisions appear to be aimed at maintaining intimacy.
Momo Boyd | SUPPLIED
Control is the strongest weapon that Boyd has vocally. She does not over sing to show talent and that discipline provides the project with depth. In such tracks as “Cold Hands” and “Strong,” she is able to combine vulnerability with stability, as she is singing within the feeling rather than acting with it. Her voice is textured–silk, with a touch of rasp, sweetness with just enough sharpness to prevent sentimentality. She knows that tension is greater than volume. It is deserved when she reaches out to loftier passages or dwells upon phrases. Not many young artistes can pace an emotion this well.
Lyrically, the EP revolves around identity and the price of being needed by others. “She’s A Sweetheart” seems to be questioning the demands made on good people, the silent belief that kindness is unlimited and free. “Big Country” breaks into romance, and even there, warmth is put in perspective with grounded realism as opposed to fantasy. “American Love Song” extends the emotive geography of the project, connecting the individual desire to the larger cultural visuals. These are not the diaristic songs of the narrow sense, they take personal feeling to analyse roles, myths, emotional inheritance.
Momo Boyd | SUPPLIED
The collaborative aspect is important as well. The musical DNA of the project, including the keen harmonies, natural instrumentation, and an inclination to breathing songs, are audible as the history of Boyd with Infinity Song. In the background, her supporters such as Mikey Freedom Hart, Brandon Shoop, and Khris Riddick-Tynes realize that her voice is the focal point. They never crowd it. Discipline in the production is uncommon. Too often collaborators attempt to make a fingerprint on everything, in this case they fortify the frame and leave the artist as the center of attention.
Miss Michigan is no attempt to be the most noisy issue of the year. It is attempting to become permanent, and that is a wiser hope. Momo Boyd is patient, crafty, and characterful at a time when virality is achieved instantly and hooks are disposable. It does not merely indicate that the EP believes that she was capable of cashing in on a big co-sign, it states that she never needed such a co-sign to count. When Good Flirts opened her eyes to the broader game, Miss Michigan is shown to be a part of it in her own right.
Preview Miss Michigan:
