Tanna Leone has kept quite busy this past month.
Aiding in Kendrick Lamar‘s return to the spotlight with his upcoming album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers swiftly approaching, Leone seemingly escaped the studio and headed for Dodger Stadium with Oklama — taking in a Dodgers’ game where the pair were spotted blending in the bleachers.
All publicity is good publicity, though, especially for a new artist like Tanna. Hoping to build buzz around his debut album Sleepy Soldier, Leone has an “it factor” that’s hard to decipher on the surface, yet his first formal project readily uncovers the refined talent behind pgLang’s newest signee.
Backed by newfound label partnerships with pgLang and Def Jam, this is the second album released under Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free’s collective — with the first being Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue.
Contrary to Keem’s self-produced debut, Sleepy Solider spans 14 songs and includes previous promotional singles in “Picasso” and “Death n’ Taxes.” Released on Thursday (April 28), the project remains featureless, providing for a true depiction of Leone’s depth, range and ability as both a lyricist and singer.
Although short-lived at just 30 minutes long, Leone’s debut effort packs a resounding punch. With genre-bending tracks in “Here We Go Again,” “Heartbreaker” and more, Leone quickly has asserted himself as one of the most original new voices bursting onto the scene. With K-Dot and company at his side, the sky is truly the limit for the pgLang lyricist.
Check out ‘Sleep Soldier’ by Tanna Leone below!
Don’t Sleep on the ‘Sleepy Soldier’ Tanna Leone
Back in early March, Los Angeles native Tanna Leone dropped his first batch of tracks with his two-pack With The Villains / Lucky — marking his first official release and christening his new deal with Kendrick Lamar’s label, pgLang.
With otherwordly production similar to that of his labelmate Baby Keem, Tanna’s mellow voice signified his comfort and poise in the moment. But, on “Lucky,” he asserted that this newfound opportunity did not come from luck, because he “made it out of hell, that sh*t was ugly.”
A month removed from his introduction as pgLang’s next hitmaker, Tanna’s debut album Sleepy Solider was quickly slated for release April 28 — leading in his inaugural effort with singles like “Picasso” (April 14), as well as his With The Villians / Lucky two-pack.
“Picasso,” while only lasting just over a minute and 45 second, further showcases Leone’s ability to mesh his deep-toned rap voice with hints of melody. With no hook and a singular, self-assured verse sandwiched by “ah ah ah ah” harmonies, Tanna’s bars demonstate the invincible feeling he carries himself with over quaking 808s and energetic percussion.
You should redirect your energy
Cause you your only enemy
Weirdos tryna ‘bro’ me now
But these folks ain’t no kin to me
“Picasso” — Tanna Leone
None of the songs that Tanna has released have lasted longer than two and a half minutes, so it will be interesting to see how he expands upon his sound in a full-length project, as well as the potential features or producers he could bring on board with his new label backing. However one thing is for certain, don’t sleep on Sleepy Soldier.
Check out Tanna’s new track below!
