Written by Pat Moran
Northern California rapper Corey Byrdsong, who writes and performs as Ice Meeze, has been toiling in the music business minefield for over a decade, so when he delivers a determined motivational track like “My Moment” you know he means it.
Over coils of spiny guitar and treated, vaguely taunting, vocal samples, Byrdsong’s liquid fine-grained flow is as much a croon as a recitative, spinning a tale of conscious momentum that fully acknowledges the hurdles placed in all of our paths.
“This is my moment/I can’t stop it/I kept going”
Then, the rap proper starts with guest Trill Lee’s funk-inflected film noir narration, but instead of noir’s obsession with predetermined fate, Lee’s proclamation hews closer to 1970s existential road movies like Vanishing Point. The protagonist in “My Moment” is busting through the fiery barricades in a rap weighed with gravitas and genuine emotion. There is not a trace of braggadocio or bravado in sight.
“This is a message you received/And I gotta text it/My reflection now is big/As anything in texas/A bigger picture I can see/Like TV projectors”
Lee’s bluff cadences dissolve into Byrdsong’s more melodic versification over the counter beats of the track’s chorus, flowing like currents rippling atop a smooth-pebbled river bed. Byrdsong’s mellifluous flow, however, is no less indomitable than Lee’s. After all, running water can bring down mountains over time.
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