Song of the Week: “Quicksand” by Morray

Morray, a rising 28 year old rapper from Fayetteville, North Carolina (the same town that birthed rap superstar J. Cole) has a breakout hit on his hands with “Quicksand”. The line between singing and rapping, between R&B and hip hop, continues to become more and more blurred, and Morray is a perfect example of an artist that has taken advantage of this trend. He delivers introspective bars about poverty and the risks of gang affiliation and drug creation and distribution with a warm, powerful voice that wouldn’t sound out of place in a church choir. On “Quicksand”, producers Hagan and Ant Chamberlain provide Morray with a backdrop of melodic guitar loops and trap drums, giving him space to emote about his difficult upbringing. On the hook, Morray describes how, from a young age, evading the street life has felt like trying to pull oneself from quicksand: “Since a jit stood tall with a kickstand / Thinking of a plan to get quick bands / Falling in deep with the quicksand / Flag out my ass, no quick brand.” The line “Betty Crocker showed me how to bake a cake / Doing that put everything I love at stake” is an allusion to the perils of cooking and selling crack. His honesty is downright jarring at times, especially when contrasted with the sweetness of his delivery, like when he sings “Never killed, ain’t gone lie, I was tempted / He was the target but he lucky that I missed it / I was always fucking up, was a misfit / My opportunity was knocking and I missed it”. “Quicksand” was released back in October, but after receiving co-signs from the aforementioned J. Cole, DaBaby, and JAY-Z, the single is breaking out in 2021. With only a handful of other (similarly catchy-yet-deep) tracks released, Morray is certainly an artist to watch as he works on his debut album and looks to capitalize off the success of “Quicksand”.