Kentucky hip-hop artist Elz Bentley made his first splash on the scene in 2018 with the album release, under the name Jay Elly, Take No Elz. The collection established him as an immediate regional talent, a strong online presence, and a national talent in the making. Lexington native Elz emerges from a fertile scene for hip-hop music and his offerings to the form present unusual textures while never venturing too afield from the genre’s wheelhouse. The synthesizer flourishes punctuating an assortment of points throughout the song strengthen its dramatic qualities and work well with Bentley’s delivery.
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Bentley weaves his way through the colorful lyrics with a matter-of-fact style. There’s a hard-bitten edge in his voice, streetwise without ever being abrasive, and he brings unquestionable musicality to bear as well. Elz Bentley hails from the Midwest, but “Buddha” is a distinctly urban tale and his talent for sketching out well-defined characters with the right details further separates him from his contemporaries and peers. His voice meshes well with the musical backing and the balance embodies the polish and overall attention to detail Bentley brings to his songs.
The track, likewise, doesn’t overstay its welcome. Bentley and his collaborators understand the importance of focused songwriting and the bare bones arrangement for this track never feels like it cheats listeners. Bentley’s keen sense of exactly what this track needs to succeed is unerring throughout the performance and the confident gait he takes falls in line with his earlier songs. He has identifiable personal style and never succumbs to the forgivable sin of young performers following iconic predecessors.
Something a lot of hip-hop forgets to do is achieve that distinctive swing that distinguishes the best rock music as well. Elz Bentley latches onto an effortless swing that never relents and its union with electronic touches such as the aforementioned synth flourishes doesn’t sound forced. This is a musical artist responding to the challenges of this year as if things, as much as possible, should be business as usual. “Buddha” illustrates, quite nicely, how far Elz Bentley’s music has progressed in a short amount of time.
Many fans will be taken with the wealth of imagery Bentley incorporates into his songwriting. Bentley’s writing lives in the heat of life, without a doubt, but it is clear he is a studious observer of what is going on around him. It makes its way into his songs. This standalone single fits in quite well with the direction he’s pursued with his latest release, the EP Bentley, and demonstrates the exponential leaps forward this young performer has made since first appearing on the radar two years ago. “Buddha” is a winner from first second to last.
There’s no indication this level of creativity won’t continue. Many listeners will get the sensation of a talent barely scratching the surface of his potential and, there’s no other way around it, Bentley will expand on this song’s strengths with future releases. It always provides a bit of a charge to come in on the early days of an influential career in the making and Elz Bentley’s “Buddha” gives us that experience.
Levi Colston