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Offbeat, rough R&B artistry is a market that’s not totally seen the peak or height of its mainstream popularity. There’s certainly more room for growth and spearheaded by the likes of artists including Chicago’s very own, Tom The Mail Man, it does seem to be growing quickly.
The Mail Man’s melodies and flows don’t follow a typical rhythm, leaving you with a smile as his bars surprise you with uncommon beat drops and layered vocals. However there’s just still something so catchy and intriguing about his voice, as modern and alternative as it may seem on the surface. Songs like his top trending hit and most popular song to date in My Storm portray this perfectly.
Listen to “Come Over” off of his latest EP and you’ll see what we mean as halfway into the song a totally new chorus and beat switch takes place. And it feels natural. His ability to adapt to beats you won’t hear often and make a clean song off of rough, constantly changing beats that mix elements of hip hop and pop is something we don’t see done successfully very often these days. It’s very Dominic Fike or Omar Apollo esque, the underlying beauty in the sound matches up with what’s being said fluidly.
Tom The Mail Man speaks often in his music on heartbreak and emotional feelings for others, which sounds cliche, but I can vouch that is not the case as he does it in an authentic and unique way.
With lyrics like “It’s 3am and I can’t get no sleep, I feel my brain crushing under this pressure” then cutting to “It makes me wanna pack my shit and leave you baby” to get her out of his head, then finally saying he “can be your slave” this track alone explores perspectives from all over the minds of lovers and shows the confusion someone can have as they fall in love. Using it as his appeal, others can relate to one part or another and then slowly grow to love Tom on other tracks too, for at its core just his true artwork and poetry.
The Mail Man has some serious talent as well as from the outside what appears to be an amazing gameplan to make it to the top in an increasingly growing R&B singing styled market. As we’re expecting to see him at festivals and shows all over with the release of his next project, make sure to check him out early on in his blow up.
It’s still in the early stages for Tom but with this much true talent don’t expect this ‘slept on’ status to last too much longer. He’s truly just one hit away.
Go check out Tom’s songs streaming everywhere and give his Instagram a follow @tomethemailman. Make sure to follow us at @engmtcent on social media to find your next favorite artist too!