Sharilli: “Clockwise” – a truly immersive sensation
Just how important is substance to music? How important is originality? Performing skill? Listening to a lot of music, one develops a set of criteria by which they judge it, like looking for depth of emotion, or creative soundscapes. Frustratingly, there exists music which challenges the effectiveness of these criteria, somehow managing to be strong and entertaining without fulfilling any of it. And then there are artists like Sharilli who fulfill all the criteria, and are still strong and entertaining despite of it.
Sharilli, is a 19 year old artist is from Toronto, Ontario, who grew up in an urban neighborhood, witnessing all of its ills – from seeing people smoking crack, to gangsters and ghetto elementary schools. He has just dropped his single “Clockwise” which deals with the theme of having “100 Years to do what you want in life and leaving the biggest legacy you can.”
Whether or not trap-induced music is your cup of tea, the craftsmanship that went into the “Clockwise” single, taken from Sharilli’s upcoming “The Reasoning EP”, is undeniable. His lyricism and rapping abilities are on par, and he has a strong enough melodicism that he just about gets away with the any other issues that may or may not exist.
Sharilli’s main strength is his ability to wrangle a beat, a theme, and clever wordplay into one coherent sound. The structure of “Clockwise” is proof that the Canadian rapper is fully aware of how to play to his strengths.
His style is essentially a pimped-up blend of Kid Cudi and Travis Scott filtered through the thumping menace and maximalism of Future and Young Thug. The beat takes what should be a refined, subtle sound and turns it up to 11, enveloping you, and creating a truly immersive sensation.
Not only do the words rhyme appropriately, with some hooky pronunciations hidden in the formula, but the lines are essentially meaningful. Sharilli may be capable of creating an even higher caliber body of work by implementing a more refined focus and taking more time to craft, but that doesn’t lessen the value of “Clockwise”, it just broadens his future horizons.
Fueled by his consistently infectious delivery, hypnotizing production and a few show-stopping verses, Sharilli has embraced his style here, and his go-for-broke energy actually makes this a pretty great rap song.
It’s the kind of music that is all about mood, and atmosphere, and if you are able to synchronize the content to the feeling it evokes, “Clockwise” is well worth your time. And with a bit of patience and hard work, at the end of the day, Sharilli’s music will be at the top of many song lists.
