Onra is a French hip hop producer and is one of my favorite leaders of the "Chillwave" genre that has been bubbling up for a few years now (hugely inspired by the best producer in the history of all things living ever: J Dilla). Like J Dilla, I am also in love with this genre. To put a genre name on it is ridiculous but so is life and I don't know what else to call it (maybe just instrumental soul/hip hop). The album that Onra did a few years back with another of my favorite producers Al Quetz a.k.a. Quetzal called Tribute (their tribute to soul music) went right under the radar and I am ecstatic it did because for some reason it always makes my head nod harder when I know I caught something that most missed. Tribute is a gorgeous album full of baby making/head nodding tracks backed with soulful chill beats and samples from some classic and underground soul tracks from past eras. They chop up a Dion Warwick track here: Walk On By but my personal favorites off the album are Don't and Caramel Dream. Both have such great production but Caramel Dream is nothing short of genius as it samples the legendary Smokey Robinson from the track Baby Baby Don't Cry. If you are gonna sample Smokey you best do it right. I don't think it could be done better in this case. Between utilizing the past for present tracks and changing the game while giving it new roots, Onra & Quetzal are perfect for MadChange.
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