Artist Real Rell Mixes Styles, Sounds With Latest Single ‘Graduated’

Artist Real Rell Mixes Styles, Sounds With Latest Single ‘Graduated’

By John Hacker

ATLANTA, Ga. — When he needs to have a strong message, he’ll belt it out loud, but artist and singer/song-writer Real Rell likes to entertain as well, and that’s what he does with his latest single, “Graduated.”

Rell’s latest track is melodic in tone at times and has a smooth sound to it that shows off the artist’s versatility and style.

The music video for “Graduated” has been seen more than 35,000 times on YouTube and tells a tale about Rell’s journey from high school to the “real” world. It’s a story teens and adults can relate to.

“I was just doing the things in my environment, the things I was used to doing and the music I was used to hearing,” Rell said. “I was trying to be creative and trying to give a good visual. I elevated when I was working on that project so I kind of felt like I graduated to another level so it’s a metaphor.”

Rell grew up in New Orleans and his family relocated to Atlanta after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, and he learned from his father to care about the issues affecting his community.

At the age of 12 he was listening to Tupac, Biggie and Jay-Z, who all inspired him to get into hip hop and pursue it as a career.

Much of his previous music spoke to the street life and his experiences growing up.

His 13-track mixtape called “Answer the Call,” also released last month, shows his evolution as a musician and rapper.

“People will really see that I’m not just a rapper; I’m something different,” Rell said. “I rapped about what I was going through, ya know, and how it was in these streets. It was about everyday life for me. ‘Answer the Call’ is a project that covers a lot of experiences. I really went there on many topics. Instead of me telling you about the mixtape, I want the people to tell me what they think. I believe my mixtape will speak for itself.”

Rell said the single “Graduated” is meant to be more of a light-hearted and commercial track than some of his previous music.

“I wanted it to come with a theme for ceremonies, even if it’s just a few bars from it,” Rell said. “I wanted it to be something down the line so it’s meant to have a little melodic tone to it.”

He said he’s looking forward to getting out and performing live in the coming year. Right now we’re really trying to take the streets, I want to, with in a year, go on tour. We really want to hit the streets and hit the clubs and see what’s going on. Here in Atlanta we really want to try and be a part of it.”

Rell stays true to his roots, but he refuses to be put himself into a box, “I do what I do because I love writing, rapping, and getting the people to vibe with me. It’s a beautiful thing.”