Mackenta is a Toronto-based recording artist who combines seamless vocals, clever rap flows, and dreamy melodies in her fine-tuned approach to alternative-R&B and modern soul.
She embodies the duality of human nature; equal parts sensitivity and sharp edges. With lyrical intricacies at the core of her songs, her music is an honest array of emotional fluidity, as listeners will hear in the cosmic new EP, LIFE ON VENUS.
For Mackenta, being a woman in the music industry and the world in general provides her with a unique perspective, one that she wants to pull her listeners into. The EP consists of six tracks that will take you on an introspective journey. It opens with ‘IT’S RAINING’ a moody and chilled track built of icy percussion as Mackenta’s brooding voice flip from laid-back R&B melodies to flawless rap verses. The EP’s sophomore track ‘WHAT’S THE POINT?’ is a steamy combination of minimalist beats and sparse strings over which Mackenta doesn’t hold back on the truth, as she questions of her soon-to-be ex, “oh why? Baby, what’s the point of it?” Standing at the half-way point is the empowering ‘VENU$’, a beat-driven track with an old-school R&B flair that celebrates the solidarity and community that women can have together.
The fourth EP track is ‘PLAY’, a moment that combines the desire for independence, “my soft girl era,” with the joy of finding someone you want to vibe with. It’s a bouncing track with a floating production that centres Mackenta’s diverse sound into the present trends. On ‘DELUSIONAL’, the artist shows off her rap skills again with tongue-in-cheek lyrics – it’s an instant hype track. With all these good feelings built up, Mackenta leads us into the EP’s closing number, ‘FLYING’, and it’s a stand-out addition to the record. Here, the musician fully embraces her evolution in which she’s unstoppable. As an ethereal concoction of soulful R&B melodies, clever wordplay, slinking bass, and fiery guitars, it’s a relaxed anthem of liberation, self-acceptance and ambition.
On the songwriting process behind the EP’s focus track ‘FLYING’, Mackenta shares:
“I wrote “Flying” about manifestation and following your dreams. I wrote it at a time when I wasn’t actually feeling very empowered but I was trying to do a lot of affirmations and self-work to change that. I realized a lot of the songs I usually write are expressing frustration and I rarely wrote when I was feeling positive. A lot of my songs are me venting, but that doesn’t cover the full spectrum of emotions I experience. So I tried a different approach of writing about how I want to feel, if it was a perfect day. I started channeling an inner part of what felt like my untapped potential. It’s now one of my favourite songs that I’ve written thus far because it represents me making the decision to stand in my confidence. Since writing it I’ve experienced a lot of what I wrote about, and more often. I believe our words have a lot of power and I wanted to channel that into a positive direction.”
Produced by Ben Lucid
Lyrics written by Mackenta
Guitar Solo by Aiden S.
Mixed By Damian Birdsey
Mastered by John Naclerio