Monterey Slayton- “All The World’s A Stage”

 There’s been a lowkey wave of Artists of all walks finding more joy and purpose in taking the behind the scenes approach to the creative side of things- from Teyana Taylor finding comfort as a director behind the camera to Jay Versace, once a viral viner now a masterful producer for the likes of SZA. But the world is still needing to catch on to talented Milwaukeeans like Monterey Slayton who is quietly yet confidently dominating behind multiple corners of music. 

  “All The World’s A Stage” has just dropped and was announced to be Slayton’s final Album as his own artist before embarking on the journey of a songwriter. After about 4 years since his heavy unload of music in 2019, Slayton decided to leave the forefront of musical creativity with a taste of what his pengame will have in store for other deserving Artists. This 14 track body of work is clearly cut from the cloth of the late 90’s- early 2000’s blueprint of R&B. Slayton’s cadence, the lyrical content and musical references, to the overall production choice (shout out the producer Digital Rose) all mesh together to create a refreshing yet nostalgic piece of material. 

The Album is broken up into three parts and is introduced as if to be a scripted audition (or soundtrack sequence) to a classic black love story with Montrey being typecast as the attentive yet imperfect loverboy, like that of one of our favorite black romances. It begins with the highs of the ‘Honeymoon Phase’ and the ‘Climax’-with songs like “Someone to Love,” that reminds us that roses on a monday are the standard. The mission of pleasure is the only topic that matters to him and his lover and it's unapologetic. Then we’re met with ‘The End', the third segment of music where songs like “Too Far” and ”These Pictures” highlight the deciding moment for many relationships alike which are inflamed by disappointment and indecisiveness. It challenges the idea of what it takes to accept someone as a lover and leaves the listener with their imagination. I say that no matter which part of the love spectrum we find ourselves on, when it comes to listening to some good R&B, as long as there’s a lil’ “Nayhooooo” thrown in there, We gone feel it either way!

/Naomi-Re’a CW