Chella H, ‘The Realist Bitch In It: Reloaded’ – Mixtape Review

Chicago rapper Chella Hhas been through a lot. Growing up in one of Chi-Town's public housing developments, not knowing her father and being a parent herself by the age of 15, Chella was forced to grow up a lot faster than she probably wanted to.

But those trials haven't seemed to affect her pursuit for musical stardom nor have they affected her desire to write rhymes, as she's been doing so since the age of 14, she says.

'The Realist B--- In It: Reloaded' is Chella H's second release this year, as she dropped the mixtape 'Highly Respected' at the beginning of 2013. 'Reloaded' is a 20-track release, hosted by Don Cannon, with a handful of features from fellow underground artists like Bo Deal and more well-known artists like Shawnna, formerly of Disturbing Tha Peace.

On songs like 'Versace' Chella demands the listener's attention by delivering a sharp knife-like flow that stabs and punctures the track with passionate force. And on 'Rock Hard' she sounds like a seasoned artist, spitting overtly sexual rhymes in a whispery come-hither voice that should work on any dance floor.

But where 'Reloaded' loses some of its steam is on songs like 'Go Crazy' and 'High,' where Chella uses choruses that are just way too simple. For example, on the latter, most of the hook is simply 'I get high, I get high, I get m----f--- high,' which just isn't clever, slick or original. With so many rappers saying the same thing, Chella doesn't add anything fresh to the commonly used I-love-weed-song.

And on 'All on Me' Chella uses the same flow pattern throughout each verse, which gets a little repetitive by the time you get to the end of the song. But aside from those negatives, she does have microphone-presence and regardless of her imperfect flow she does command attention, which is hard to teach. Plus, the production on the mixtape is above average.

From track one to 20, the unnamed producer or producers do a nice job of making the mixtape sound cohesive, and not like a bunch of random beats were selected. Like on 'Where Da N---'. A slow grooving banger that provides just enough drama to capture Chella's rhymes which are comprised of tough-talk, fashion rhymes and sexual content.

Other standout tracks are 'So Fresh' and 'Big And Fat.' The latter being a menacing sounding car banger that's sure to satisfy the ardent Hip-Hop head that likes his beats a little dark.

In short, 'The Realest B--- In It: Reloaded' does a good job of letting fans know what Chella's particular rhyme style is and what her overall brand will probably be like. And with a mic-presence that forces you to take notice of her, she could have a pretty bright future.

But there are some things about her flow that can improve like hitting certain words with more force so they land perfectly on the snare drum. Or changing up her flow within the same verse to keep listeners on their toes. Doing these kinds of things only makes a rapper seem more deliberate in his or her choices--more in control.

It'll be interesting to see what Chella's future projects sound like, because it seems she's off to a pretty decent start when it comes to knowing what her style is. Now she'll just have to tweak some of the mechanics of that style, and if she does that, she'll be okay.

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Listen to Chella H's 'The Realist Bitch In It: Reloaded' Mixtape