Se é verdade que o hip-hop pode ser um exercício de extremo e magoado confessionalismo, ao mesmo tempo que um radical testemunho sobre o mundo à nossa volta, Angel Haze, 20 anos, nascida em Detroit, emerge como uma admirável expressão de tais poderes. Admirável, literalmente: digna de admiração.
No jornal The Guardian, Alex Macpherson resume o seu génio criativo, escrevendo que ela "tende a provocar sangue em tudo aquilo que visa"; no site Pitchfork, Jordan Sargent propõe uma hipótese de fascinante ambivalência, considerando que Haze pode ser "o perfeito avatar para o hip-hop em 2012"; tudo isso atravessado por uma energia paradoxal que, como muito justamente refere Katherine Flynn, no Consequence of Sound, envolve uma desarmante androginia.
O seu primeiro e fulgurante EP, Reservation (disponível em whenitraeens.com), aí está como cristalina ilustração dessa capacidade de aceitar o hip-hop em todas as suas hipóteses de contaminação e reinvenção perante os domínios da pop, R&B e o que mais estiver para acontecer... Aqui fica o emblemático tema de abertura, This Is Me, num registo sonoro do YouTube (apenas com a imagem da capa do disco).
Damn, I was barely half grown
I kept crying as you set me on that greyhound
And try to reassure me that things will be ok now
But they wasn't and we both saw it coming
I mean I was just a kid but I was far from a dummie
And as the pain grew you got more reckless and destructive
Like the time you tried to fight and chase Matt around in public
It was crazy and I ain't never seen it one way
I just used to think the cops would take you from us one day
And each time I had to be as strong as I could be and more
And take myself to places I ain't never fucking seen before
Traggic, even when your sanity was madness
You tried to make peace so you could teach me how to grasp it
You should know I'm proud you're doing better for yourself
And that everything you've been made me exactly who I am
It's you and me, and everything we are is everything we'll be
I swear I'll always love you I know you feel the same
And I just wanna say you made it through the pain
Don't let me go ,save my soul from me, let me grow
I say don't let me go , save my soul from me, let me grow
But we're been through alot and I've been thinking about it lately
We've seen alot of shit some kids should never have to see
Like the shelter and every night we starved ourselves to sleep
Or like when Daniel used to hurt me and you tried to intervene
Or when I told you I was gonna kill you all while you asleep
We we're crazy but we had alot of bad examples
And living how we were living that's alot of shit to handle
And everytime we turned around it seemed like she was hurt again
Even when she promised us we'd never have to hurt again
And we never had a family, but even with the hatred
We have never not had we
You should know that I'll be here until the curtains close
Even when you lose yourself, here until your hurting goes
You should know I'm proud to know you're doing better for yourself
And that everything you've been made me exactly who I am
It's you and me, and everything we are is everything we'll be
I swear I'll always love you I know you feel the same
And I just wanna say you made it through the pain
Don't let me go ,save my soul from me, let me grow
I say don't let me go , save my soul from me, let me grow
Dear little girl inside, everything is fine
We've got through all the pain and even got to keep our minds
Sometimes we still get crazy but not the way we used to
When the love that you know now is nothing you were used to
Sometimes you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself
And love you that way you can teach anybody else
And if it's pain that you were feeling you release it until it's dop
Or else it will get stronger and just beat until you drop
You're alot smarter than you're ever given credit for
Lived like a simili lessons are a metaphor
I hope one day you're strong enough to break free from the cage
And that everything inside you is the reason I've been praying and
It's you and me, and everything we are is everything we'll be
I swear I'll always love you I know you feel the same
And I just wanna say you made it through the rain