It doesn’t take long for the scene to be set for Heart of A Lion, and lyrically Arkadian has soon painted a backdrop of the dangers of the street corners, the hustle and hassle of the day to day of life in the hood and of politics and dangers that go with the scene – jealousy, competition and hate are the order of the day. But it is against such a backdrop that Arkadian defines himself, he will overcome, he will win through, he is bigger than this.
Heart of a Lion is driven by cutting edge rap sounds and slow, hip-hop grooves. The lyrics fire off in deft salvos of words and warnings, dancing above the digital landscape that drives the song. Futuristic electronic and off-beat percussion build a bridge between the beats and the top-end vocals but throughout it all, Arkadian’s words remain the focal point.
Hard-edged narratives of life on the streets, rap salvos and vocal operas playing out in the shadows of the alleyways, stream of consciousness poetry telling it like it is.
If you want a song that speaks of the extremes of where society is today but which does so in a language all of its own, like a real-life street theatre reporting on the events of people’s lives, as they happen, then Heart of a Lion has everything that you need.
