West London artist Xadi continues his exploration of style and sound on the smooth R&B slow jam ‘Acting Up’.

Having built up a reputation throughout 2020 with his diverse, expressive and lucid take on alternative hip hop, Xadi has branched out into different genres, highlighting his versatility on tunes like ‘Movies’ and ‘Mañana’. Xadi, who has received support from some of the UK’s biggest tastemakers, from BBC Radio 1xtra to The Guardian, looks set to continue his impressive rise over the next year. 

The instrumental has a drawn out, spacey vibe and the production is showered in reverb and echo’d ambiguity, kept sharp and concise by the snappy drums and salient vocal flows. Watery, gentle keys sit in the back of the sparse and atmospheric soundscape, subdued but colourful. Xadi delivers his distinctive, emotive tone and sung rap delivery, flowing ethereally and seamlessly over the picturesque, mellow instrumental. The pitched up vocals of the chorus are offered up by close collaborator, the exciting Nina Cobham. 

Always bringing authenticity and passion to his music, on ‘Acting Up’ Xadi is particularly effective at making the condensed thematic content feel empathetic to the listener, with the reflective, intimate verses carrying great emotional depth.