Ivy Sole: Overgrown
“A sower went out to sow his seed
And as he sowed, some fell in the path and was trampled on
And the birds of the air ate it up
Some fell on the rock and as it grew up it withered for lack of moisture
Some fell among thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it
Some fell into good soil and when it grew it produced a hundredfold
Find where you can bloom, baby”
- Ivy’s Mother// Parables
Taylor McLendon or Ivy Sole recently dropped her debut album, Overgrown. Ivy Sole was raised in Charlotte N.C. but now resides as a twenty-five-year-old Philly rapper. Overgrown is an album full of inspiration, forgiveness of oneself, forgiveness of all the bad that’s ever happen to you and raw accountability. Ivy’s sound is very distinctive. Her voice is bold and her songs are like open mic poetry slams. Her overall sound reminds of artist like Rapsody, Tiffany Gouche and Noname. Artist that don’t apologize for being themselves, and are extremely talented and touch basis on being a Black Women in today’s music industry and scene.
Some of my favorite tracks of the album include:
Rollercoaster
A lighthearted song that speaks on the ups and downs of love and how it can be hard to navigate if it’s right for you or just a waste of time. Ivy’s voice is smooth on track, giving more alternative 90s R&B vibes.
Backwoods ft. Anyee Wright
The instrumentals in this track goes a litter harder, and Ivy Sole’s sound has more grit to it, showing how universal her sound can be. “My homeys say I made it so I second guess depression/ Cuz I left my city childless/ how I left my city breathless/See Junie had a baby, and/Brandon caught a body/Ivy talking college with a dooby riding shotty/My youngins barely graduate but study Smith and Wesson/And I’m blessed to never have to learn that lesson” Ivy touches on making it out, attending college and making changes for her and her family.
Achilles
Ivy Sole speaks on her skepticism on institutionalized religion, how with the dark events that happen in life have made that even harder too. How when you don’t heal, things can spiral even more, and sometimes the people in your life are only there for certain moments in life to help you heal, to help you learn. “And every person represents your next potential blow/So I/couldn’t let him touch me, couldn’t let her close/Couldn’t say I love you when they needed it most/I’m sorry for the lessons I learned at your expense/And I know it hurts that you can’t see my growth in present tense”
Overgrown
The beats on this track especially caught my attention. Ivy’s voice is smooth and just sounds fresh as fuck, and as a 90’s baby this song is relatable.. I definitely, chuckled at the “Taking chances on my limewire/Gave my laptop rabies/What a time to be alive” line, because that shit was no joke. The vibes on this song is super chill, her flow is fun and fits perfectly with the theme of the album.
You can find her album, Overgrown on all mainstream music platforms.