BUD HOLLY
Make Music Art Again
(Dakota South Records)
By Mike O’Cull, independent music journalist. www.mikeocull.com
South Dakota’s own Bud Holly is bringing the heat this summer with a new full-length release, Make Music Art Again, that shows him to be an evolving talent who’s ready to take on the world at large. Hitting the streets in June 2019 on Dakota South Records, Make Music Art Again delivers on the potential Holly showed on his last record, Scientifically Dope, as a young hotshot lyric spitter with both a sharp tongue and a sense of humor. The new set finds Holly in better form than ever and it feels like he’s growing into his role as a recording artist of no small reputation.
Holly is supremely confident on the microphone and easily blends serious topics with party-starters. He also shifts gears from hard, modern rap on tunes like “Started From The Bottom” and “The Game” to the spacey, stony vibe of “420” and the almost pop/rock feel of “Monster” smoothly and effectively. Holly’s versatility and command of the rap idiom turn Make Music Art Again into a worthwhile one-sitting listen. It’s so much more than just a collection of sound-alike singles and is proof positive that Holly takes the sentiment of the title to heart. Longer formats like this reveal an artist’s depth, or lack thereof, but Holly’s ideas, technique, and level of artistry are all world class.
Holly throws down hard on “Don’t Make Me Do It,” which is menacingly confident, but shows a softer, more meaningful side of himself on the downtempo “Stay With Me.” The track humanizes Holly as being capable of more than the brashness and bravado he often displays and is vitally important to the overall feel of these sessions. Other standout cuts here include “If You Don’t Know,” “I Wanna Be Rich,” and “Gone.” Bud Holly is bigger and badder than ever before on Make Music Art Again and the tracks on it have the wingspan required to fly him around the globe. Buy this record and spin it all summer.
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/15St7HFf0DIXHBY2r8rxNs?si=AYjVbDnfS2mmQkp8Lwcykg
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/make-music-art-again/1466931723
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/budhollyentertainment/