Monsoon Winds, the debut album of Mex Cortez, will easily become heavy rotated through your playlists, as it has in mine! To begin, a monsoon is defined as seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation, with winds moving from colder climates to warmer ones. Cortez calls his album, Monsoon Winds, as a symbol to represent him finding his way from Sri Lanka to Tanzania. Originally from Sri Lanka but born and raised in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania, Cortez uses this album to break out of his shell and discover himself through the lenses of music. His album has an overarching theme of the “Up and Coming” artist that is still finding himself. He tells us a story throughout the album, where we learn more and more about him as we continue to listen. A few of the highlights of the album are:
My Name (feat. Arzoo)
With the opening notes, this song immediately becomes one of my favorite tracks. The sing explores the “Up and Coming” theme the album portrays, as I mentioned above.
The Skits
Mex Cortez adds 3 skits in between the songs at .5 (Uncle KB), 10. (Hashim Dogo), and .14 (Hashim Dogo). With these skits, Mex Cortez immerses the listener deeper into his world, making the listening of this album on another level of experience.
Melanin
This song is not only catchy, but it exudes the energy of pure Black Love, and a love of being Black and surrounded by that energy. The verse, “…in love with your melanin…”, embodies the type of admiration we would all like to receive. A love song.
Raw Uncut (feat. Nikki Mbishi)
This song has easily become my favorite song on the album. It being the second to last track in the lineup of the 18-track album, does not make it second to last in its ranking. The way Mex Cortez eloquently switches between languages makes this song’s position toward the end of the album grand. This is because of the way the song encompasses the goal Mex Cortez set at the beginning of the album: to break out of his shell and know who he is. This is apparent not only through the lyrics, but also because of the way it demonstrates multiple facets of his identity through him switching between languages.
Overall, I believe that Mex Cortez’s album, Monsoon Winds, is a beautiful addition to his discography and a wonderful debut album. He executes his vision for the album well and makes it a journey that listeners join him on throughout the album. The only thing that could possibly make it better is if it was turned into a visual album as well!
Find the album on Bandcamp and find Mex Cortez on Twitter and Instagram