DSD February 22, 2018: "Proud of Me (feat. Little Simz)" - Mahalia
Shaun Cordingley
Welcome to the "Daily Song Drop": theguysfrom.com's song of the day feature where our resident indie music writer and former DJ Shaun Cordingley features a song every weekday that he feels you need to hear. If you enjoy the track, please share it, so we can keep on talking about great new music!
Proud of Me (feat. Little Simz) - Mahalia
UK based singer/songwriter Mahalia is a bit more well known then most of the artists I talk about here on the Daily Song Drop (she has been working since she signed with Atlantic Records when she was 13), but when I heard her latest single "Proud of Me" featuring North London rapper Little Simz...it just needed to be included on here.
Check the track out below:
I love the way that "Proud of Me" starts off, giving off some Lauryn Hill vibes before Mahalia unveils what ends up being a very sweet, and thoughtful confessional style song about where she has been as an artist (and a person), and how far she has come in realizing what it is that she really is striving for, all wrapped in a laid-back, soulful package. What is also incredibly lovely is how seemlessly Little Simz appears her for verse, speaking to the same things, with similar personal grounding to Mahalia's verses, which, when taken together, create a song that feels emotionally important to both of them as they continue to grow and develop into amazing artists.
Though I do have to say there is one part of the production in the chorus that bears a striking resemblance to the beginning of the Jimi Hendrix track that I have cut into a personal ringtone on my phone, and it catches me every time.
EVERY. TIME.
But that's a me problem, and frankly, I'd say I have probably listened to "Proud of Me" about 10 times since I first stumbled across it (and while writing this) and I am more than willing to reach for my phone every time and say "damn it", because this is just one of those tracks that I could listen to on repeat for days, thanks to that personal connection, and having Mahalia articulate feelings that many, many artists (myself included) have felt so beautifully..it's a great song.
If this is your first introduction to Mahalia, be sure to check out some of her earlier work (there is a great deal for your to discover), though a couple of my personal favourites are "No Pressure (prod. by Maths Time Joy)" and the acoustic track "I Remember".
Here is the January 2018 Apple Music Playlist, and the January 2018 Spotify Playlist for the Daily Song Drop. It seems like we are starting off the month with the traditional "one song is missing" (that being "Board It Up" by Nekokat), but all in all it's a pretty fun list to start the year off!
Plus it was not the usual soul-murdering December/January blended list that always drove me nuts every year with its' "two months" of songs to try and fit together.
Who does that?
If you're looking for any of our past playlists, be sure to check out a Friday DSD feature, or search for theguysfrom on either Apple Music or Spotify!
See you tomorrow for our next Daily Song Drop!
-S (@Shauncord)
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any "Daily Song Drop" songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music that we are enjoying, or re-expose them to artists they may have forgotten about.
Above the description of the song will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.