Listen: S.O.S. - @KALEBMITCHELL feat. @samstanmusic (words by Katriece Davis)

By now you’ve probably heard the name Kaleb Mitchell. With his debut So Help Me God charting at number 7 on the iTunes Hip Hop charts last year, and over 2 million streams on SoundCloud alone he’s managed to grow a very strong and loyal fan base. SoundCloud led me to his 2016 mixtape 45,  but I’ve known Kaleb for a long time. I’m a Morristown, New Jersey native myself, and we grew up in the same church. The influence of our Baptist upbringing was all over his mixtape, 45, in songs like S.O.S and Goliath.

He’s by no means putting himself in a box by aligning himself with Christian Hip Hop. Think  Chance the Rapper, but way less gimmicky. S.O.S is track six on 45 and the song that led me to project to begin with. The sample of GoldLink’s Zipporah peaked my interest,  but his genuine reinterpretation of the song is what got my attention. Kaleb doesn’t stray too far from GoldLink’s subject matter as he also ponders his displacement as a Black youth in America, but he also made it his own by flexing his vocals a little and showing his versatility. Look out for the editor's review of his newest project, MITCHELL tomorrow but for now, listen to SOS featuring Sam Stan below.