Bran Movay Goes Back To Rap Basics To Give Us A Summertime Bop On “Mango Sweet,” The Fruitful First Single From His Upcoming EP.

Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.

Bran Movay – “Mango Sweet”
RIYL: Romantic rap.
What Else You Should Know: Even though Bran Movay now resides in Los Angeles as he attends USC, the rapper’s music has Dallas’ influence all over it, specifically on 2017’s Flower Talk.

You know those edits that make songs sound like you’re listening to them from another room? “Mango Sweet” starts off with that familiar stereo sound popularized by stan Twitter. After a few seconds, it sounds as if you’re entering the room the song is playing in while the catchy hook — reminiscent of Drake’s early singing rapper ways  runs at full volume.

Movay flows through woes of millennial dating over a simple ’90s beat, telling us about how a girl caught his eye, “Shawty like the fruit that I couldn’t resist/Mango Sweet, I bit the juice from her lips.” But this story isn’t just about a meet cute – the rapper acknowledges his fault, allowing the song to serve as an apology for his part in the off-and-on relationship.

The verses are like journal entries that detail an account of sweet love that just can’t keep from turning sour, right down to mention of the girl’s hoop earrings. “Mango Sweet” feels like a return to the kind of storytelling that made hip-hop resonate with listeners to begin with. 

The star of this summery track is Bran’s excellent wordplay — where he could be using run of the mill simple rhymes, he employs lines like “Fresh slate, you and me/If we speaking truthfully/There always ‘gon be a stain or two that we just couldn’t clean.” The commitment to storytelling here enhances the track by adding emotion that a lot of mainstream rap is missing right now. 

There are also a few clever nods to pop culture, including a shoutout to Dallas’ own high priestess, Erykah Badu. (“To the point, no cap one hundred/No slack We Badu, 3 stacks or Jada and Fresh Prince/We gonna be threw with that or dwell on the past tense.”)

The saga of “Mango Sweet” ends on a cliffhanger – we don’t find out if they get back together. Instead, over a gospel influenced organ, Bran asks the million dollar question: so what we bout to do now?

Cover photo by Dani Tuchman.

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