South London’s Michael Kiggundu better known as MUNDU has one of the most unique yet honest sounds that I’ve heard in the UK’s R&B/Hip Hop scene for a long time and I’ve been loving every minute that I’ve been diving into his back catalogue. There’s just something so real to his sound with it never feeling overproduced or too clean, it’s gorgeous within the imperfections it has and that’s what has made his sound so brilliant to me and his latest release with Kaelin Ellise titled Brag and Boast is no different.
The textured soundscape is truly compelling with these strong beats to it mixed with these luscious harmonies and subtle nuances that just make me lose myself in the mesmerising sound he’s crafted for himself. Then you’ve got his introspective lyrics and passionate vocal delivery that elevate the piece to a whole new level and has me simply falling head over heels for this man’s amazing music. Speaking about the track he had this to say:
“Brag and Boast originally started as a freestyle celebrating the wins that I have experienced this year in the midst of the global pandemic, as well as the goals I am currently working to hit. Having first heard the instrumental by Kaelin Ellis (Lupe Fiasco, Virgil Abloh, Kaytranada) through a video that he posted on social media, I instantly fell in love with it and began writing the first verse with the video on repeat. Following that, I downloaded the instrumental and recorded the freestyle as a response.
“After posting this on social media, I immediately received a heightened response from my audience (including praise from the likes of Kojey Radical, Chi “Chopper” Lewis-Parry and more), followed by a conversation with Kaelin Ellis in which we decided to begin the process of releasing the song in full. Following this, I began to build on the freestyle and develop the concept of celebrating both current and future wins. This created the song that we have now, allowing my audience to ‘Brag and Boast’ about making it through a difficult year.”