Ronnue established his brand as one of the more reliable in the Northwest underground not too long ago after a string of popular hits on the indie circuit, and in his new role as producer for up and comer Lisa G. Allen, his legacy of detail-oriented craftsmanship only gets stronger. Allen is a formidable vocalist who demands a more rigid beat structure behind her to get a full-bodied harmony together in her new single “Big Momma,” but while the concept for the track is a bit stock in comparison to what you might find coming off the cloud scene at the moment, her originality as a singer is what gives this single its gilded edge. With a little help from Ronnue behind the glass, this player makes quite the intriguing debut in “Big Momma.”
Allen attacks the verse with a lot of potency in this track, but I wouldn’t say that she’s pushing the melody too hard with her delivery. There’s a lot of space in this arrangement for her to get virtuosic with her voice, but she stops short of doing anything overly sophisticated with the hook – being that it’s one of the more familiar sounds most listeners will encounter in a new single this year. Her melodicism is never shaped by the instrumental backdrop but instead by the drive in her execution, which isn’t something that can be taught in any school. It’s a natural talent, and she’s making it work for her very well in this performance.
These vocal harmonies are the bread and butter of “Big Momma,” and I like that Allen isn’t leaning on the sample so much that we can’t appreciate how much range she really has. The cosmetics of the groove are pretty black and white, but she gives them the sort of razzle-dazzle tonality that they need to sound poppy and accessible to the masses. It would be interesting to hear a straight club mix of this track at some point in the future, but even without it, I believe this single works as a dancefloor anthem for numerous reasons, the biggest one being how infectious its climax is. It’s doing well on the right charts at the moment, and I can see why when listening to the radio version of the song specifically.
First and foremost, I’ve got to hand it to this singer and songwriter for her depth as a rookie recording artist, as I don’t hear much of this caliber out of her direct peers on the west coast these days. While I think she could get more out of her voice, she’s getting her professional campaign off to an amazing start with the debut of “Big Momma,” and I don’t believe her stylish presence is going to get anything but better with increased time in the studio. Her presence is something that caught my attention right off the bat when sitting down with this track, and with more miles on the odometer, she’s going to develop a lot faster than some of the competition will.
Cleopatra Patel