Ground Up’s top Producers finally released their joint project Girls Like You and it’s filled with all kinds of melodic vibes.
Known for being the master crafters behind some of Kwesi Arthur’s timeless hits, these stellar in house producers are starting a journey of their own. This time Yung D3mz is stepping into the booth, whilst Boye and Uche B handle production with some assists from D3mz. The trio’s efforts formed “Girls Like You”, a tape that crosses over genres like pop, R&B, trap and Afrobeats blending them all into an overall feel-good soundscape.
As expected, Yung D3mz’s singer/songwriter abilities bring out the best of production efforts by his fellow producers. The first song, “Electric” is such an example already setting the mood for a groovy listening journey throughout the tape. The funk-filled production carries D3mz simplistic yet stimulating lyricism blending all the necessary elements for a fire afrobeats record. “Dangerous” the lead single off the project still sounds surprising and new, giving how excellent Yung D3mz rides the beat.
“Anita” slows the overall tempo of the tape down with Boye steering the pace of the song with an R&B/Soul type of production intelligently partnered with Middle-Eastern influenced sounds. The overall result? A slowed down, exotic dutty wine song which sounds like it was made for bedroom bullying. This same energy on Anita extends to “Confident”, a chilled but sensual song that highlights the confidence of a lover. This is the type of song that is played in a room only lit by neon lights with your lover, it screams Trapsoul-esque with Yung D3mz coordinating the sensuality and vulnerability of it all.
Ticking all the boxes for versatility, the last song has it all. My personal favourite, “Virgil” comes on a thrilling fully-fledged trap production. It’s a bit like the iconic picture of Dwyane Wade’s no-look celebration of his alley-oop to LeBron James. Channelling his inner Playboy Carti employing a rap-singing style and certainly dunking in on his verses, D3mz highlights his ability to do it all.
Overall “Girls Like You” is a must-listen, these 3 creatives came together to produce a solid body of work by collaborating and experimenting with each other’s usual genres to bring us all something to vibe to in these uncertain times.