Won’t Let You Down mapped legacy, love and lyrical weight through Sugarae’s storm-soaked production –

SUGARAE knew exactly how to juxtapose luminous synth lines with caustic, bass-heavy reverberations to summon pure emotive tension in Won’t Let You Down. While ‘cinematic’ gets flung about far too freely, few tracks stake a claim to the term as convincingly as this monolithic alt-hip-hop release. From the opening shimmer to the final drop into thunderous resonance, the sound design storms through your chest like a film score written for someone fighting to become everything they promised they would be.

Leaning into the full fortitude of his production alias shdwsound, the Birmingham-based independent artist laid the groundwork at Pirate Studios, where he wrote, performed, produced, recorded, engineered and mastered the track himself.

Leaving all of the volition to the instrumental, he was free to deliver nothing but soul through his chameleonic verses and bars that blur the boundaries between hip-hop and RnB. Rather than posturing, he poured in a deep sincerity fuelled by personal stakes – channelled directly from the recent birth of his son. Every bar lands like a vow, built to be repeated in the ears of those he holds closest.

The high-octane energy hits like walk-in music for a title fight, but the lyricism folds in far more vulnerability and promise than bravado. It’s a statement of devotion. A testimony to legacy. A reckoning with responsibility. Won’t Let You Down isn’t a flex. It’s a foundation.

Won’t Let You Down is now available on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast