Review: Tngey - Missed Calls (feat. JAY MALAKHI, Kay Rico & Leo Morris)

Highly touted producer Tngey releases his debut single 'Missed Calls', featuring verses from emerging talent JAY MALAKHI and Manchester legend Kay Rico. In his short yet impactful career, Tngey has certainly made a name for himself, working with highly coveted artists such as Meekz, Shotty Horroh, Kastro, and many more. In his own words, Tngey is currently working to blend West Coast production elements with those of UK rap and grime, combining distinct scenes with a fresh approach. This new single perfectly exemplifies this "cross-Atlantic fusion", as he puts it.

Tngey's glistening production features complex and curious instrumental choices. The rising and falling strings are constant throughout the track, with the kick, hi-hats, keys, guitar, beat breaks and other percussive choices being constantly sprinkled in and out of the verses. Whilst the structure of the song employs the standard 3x chorus 2x verse structure, these instrumental choice amass to an engaging and intriguing listen. These elements all culminate in the chorus, seamlessly fitting in to the track's vision without stealing the spotlight from the verses. The 20-second outro is also a beautiful addition to an already smooth-sounding listen. The instrumental is stripped back completely for this portion, with only the smoothest sounds remaining. We are then essentially serenaded out of the song to feel uplifted and serene in our next steps after listening. Tngey demonstrates all his experience on the track's production, perfectly encapsulating his signature vibe and future ambitions.

Tngey's vision for 'Missed Calls' is further executed through the combining of the new and the 'old' school (sorry Kay Rico I don't mean to slight you, the game moves fast around here). JAY MALAKHI floats over the first verse of the track, demonstrating why he is only continuing to grow in notoriety. He cites inspirations of Isaiah Rashad and Kojey Radical, both of which are evident in his delivery and production choices. I love the rhyme schemes and flow switches in his verse, specifically. Obviously, it sounds very smooth and fits like a glove over Tngey's production. But what intrigues me is the way he moves between schemes and flows mid-sentence, constantly keeping you on your toes. This allows him to find unique pockets in the beat that are generally unseen. Very impressive stuff.

Kay Rico then enters the fold, delivering a polished and intelligent verse with more of a hi-hat emphasis in the production. We've heard Kay Rico on hard-hitting grime beats, bouncy club bangers, and garage tunes. It's unusual to hear him spit over a more laid-back instrumental, like we see here on 'Missed Calls'. Yet, Kay Rico swaps out his usual braggadocio energy for introspective bars on his way of living, and it works PERFECTLY. Tngey really brings out another side to Kay Rico, in his lyrics and delivery. The flow is smooth and springy, with Tngey adapting the intricacies of the beat to fit this style (and vice versa). I, for one, would be very interested and invested in a lo-fi Kay Rico arc.

As far as lead singles go, 'Missed Calls' delivers. It's hard to grasp that this is Tngey's debut, as his sound is so polished and crafted. His engineering experience rears its head on this track, as the mixing and mastering is meticulously executed. We should all be excited for Tngey's debut EP 'Across the Pond', releasing on May 23rd, as well as the heights he can reach in the future.

Listen to the track here: