By: Kaleb Bronson
She has become a local icon and is continuing to build momentum with each lyric, beat and influential album. Maria Isa is a powerhouse who is making waves and with her newest album, Valley of the Dolls, and she is showing her skills through a variety of genres including Latin, hip hop, R&B and pop, to only mention a few.
This 10-track album of diversity tells stories of life, dreams, affection, heritage and heroism, but this is only a small piece of the emotional landscape Isa offers on Valley of the Dolls. As the album enters its broad spectrum, the listener is taken on a global journey of perspective. After the intro, the second track, “Sabotage” is poppy and catchy and following it is a political stance on “Steve Jobs,” that shakes the listener with a Latin rhythm.
Isa labels herself as coming from NuyoRican parents (New York-Puerto Ricans) and her cultural influence shines throughout this record. If the listener wants to dance, protest or just listen, all are available within these 10-songs. Each song on this album could be released as a single although it also has a solid flow.
Some of the best beats come from the track “Me Cura,” which is back-beat driven with a funky attitude, a song that could certainly be many people’s theme song. Think walking down the street with this absorbing the street; the lights, the signage, the art. And then “Children of the 80s” arrives to close out the album, this is where Isa drives the record as a staple and Isa best album to date. This track has a smooth intro and a continued vibe of past revelation and future inspiration. “I know something they don’t tell you,” Isa chants, which is a statement of recollection.
Maria Isa is more than a singer, songwriter, MC and performing artist, she is part of a movement, the future of not only the Minneapolis music scene, but the future of music. Isa is on the prowl of the revolution of musical evolution with “Valley of the Dolls.”
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