Now is a great time for UK music artists to fly the flag and redefine that confining box that is urban music. As of late the UK charts have been dominated by homegrown talent, thus opening doors for the rest. However, it’s been well overdue for someone to bring real R&B to the masses again. Angel seems quite prepared and fit for the job if his latest release is anything to go by.

 Angelites all over have been in anticipation over 7 Minutes Before Time, the debut EP from the West London newcomer, with great expectations. Angel and his production house Parallel recently gave us a taster with self released music videos for songs taken from the EP. Signed to Island, he’s already had chart success penning hits for the likes of Roll Deep and Pixie Lott,  

7 Minutes Before Time opens with a bold and political introduction from Peter Tosh (reggae artist and member of The Wailers) which sets the tone for Angel’s intentions in the music industry. Tosh expresses a feeling of unrest towards the condition of music and the industry. Keeping it bold, Gleamin’ follows with Maxsta – grimes new kid- as well as it’s pioneer, Wiley. Here Angel showcases his spitting abilities, something that is often assumed from his appearance.

Raining Girls, featuring Temps follows the rules of a good pop track; good use of synths, a memorable chorus and bass. In contrast Popstar featuring Giggs is an adrenalin fueled number addressing the stereotypes thrown at him. Pop Bottles is a feel good party track which features Scorcher and Gfrsh, followed by Hard which showcases his writing abilities. Another radio-friendly track is Ride Out featuring Sneakbo. The particularly great thing about this track is it’s most prominent hook which is in the frist and last verse.   

 The latest video release from Angel's recently released 

Go in Go Hard features man of the moment, Wretch 32. This one give insight to Angel’s experiences being in a group with his siblings as a child. The group was managed by their father – a reggae musician – and were filmed for a BBC documentart, One Life in 2004. The final track is Ladder featuring Encore’s Mark Asari and Cleo Sol. This is a follow up from the previous song, showing the struggles of success from different perspectives.

7 Minutes Before Time is a strong EP which showcases Angel’s strengths and versatility. It’s probably more fitting to call him a musician or artist as opposed to being just a singer because it is not his only skills. The EP has seen him rap, sing, and write in an array of styles. Musically the tracks are more than a few beats, they are compositions with structure. Did we mention he produces also? With every reason this release portrays Angel’s confidence and thirst to be a prominent figure in music. He has a lot of experiences behind him, some of which he has only scraped from the surface so far, Having said that , he has a lot to offer and if this first offering is just a small dose, Angel and his Parallel camp are a force to be reckoned with. 

 7 Minutes Before Time is available to purchase on iTunes