Fred Locz’s “Tragic Blizzard”

Aching with a heavy emotional weight that can only be expressed in these melodic means, the keys that adorn the backdrop in Fred Locz’s “Tragic Blizzard” might as well be the stinging-cold snowflakes of a whiteout, as they’re quite honestly a brooding source of passion and pain in this single. Locz manages their presence with a precision behind the mic that gave me chills the first time I dropped this track on the stereo, and although his isn’t a lyrical wit that relies on a lot of props to set the tone for a single, he uses the piano part here to his full advantage and then some. This song is about more than a story – it’s a vibe, and it’s coming to us as fiercely as this player can dish it out. 

The absence of intensity beside Locz is telling of his desire to remain a stoic, singular force of catharsis in this song as much as it is an agent of evocation highlighting the insularity of his thoughts in “Tragic Blizzard.” At once, his mind is both racing and contemplating, drawing us into his anxiety as though we’ve been invited into someone’s intimate home living space. There’s an honesty to this performance that really had me feeling connected with the narrative from the jump, and from the delivery to the decadence of the composition on its own, it’s obvious that the artist we’re listening to is being himself and not striking a pose for the benefit of his brand. 

PANDORA: https://www.pandora.com/artist/fred-locz/tragic-blizzard-single-explicit/ALVJthqrjrx9bJw

This moodiness in the bassline is made partly from the tempo Fred Locz creates through his execution, and I love that his lyrics are never impeded by the emotional conflict the bottom-end grooving creates with his smooth vocal. To say that there are a lot of moving parts in “Tragic Blizzard” isn’t doing the song justice; personally, I think this is one of the most ambitious singles we’ve heard from this artist to date, and perhaps a song that can score him the attention from mainstream media outlets and fans so many of his contemporaries would envy. He’s earning the buzz here, and I doubt many hip-hop fans are going to be inclined to disagree with me this August. 

“Tragic Blizzard” carries a lot in its words and the waves of instrumentation supporting them, but it just so happens to be the best, most well-rounded look that we’ve collectively seen from its creator to date. He’s showing off a level of self-control that I wish I could see more of in rap across the underground right now, and provided he steers clear of the overzealousness getting a lot of his rivals into trouble in the mainstream at the moment, I believe he’s going to be seeing a dramatic increase in attention and acclaim from critics and fans alike. This is a testament to his strength as a performer and a recording artist, but perhaps even more important than this is what “Tragic Blizzard” demonstrates for his composing abilities. He’s the full package, and that’s hard to deny in this release. 

Nicole Killian