(New Audio)-@Chel_mechale “Round Of Applause”

Just as General Motors is charting its rebirth from the gloom and desperation of the Great Recession, so too is Detroit native Chel — a mercurial rapper, whose red hot rhymes and stone cold beats have transported the MC from his Motor City-birthplace to his new home in the City of Angels.

The Los Angeles transplant and son of celebrated Motown songwriter Barrett Strong (“Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”), Chel has music in his genes and a don’t-quit-can’t-quit attitude fueling the incessant rhythm of his piston heart. Just take a listen to any of the 14 breathless and driving tracks on his full-length debut, “PitBulls and Black People”.

The album is informed by everyday life, Chel explains — anything from the monotony of the daily grind, a wild night out, the passion and the pain of relationships, small acts of kindness and great cultural injustices. The album features fellow rising stars Anya Kvitka, Rey Resurreccion, Airis, and jCrizzy with production from ChexMex, jCrizzy, Dope Dee, Es-K, and Marv X.

In a way, it makes perfect sense that Chel would end up in Los Angeles. His stories embrace and simultaneously critique Hollywood’s dubious promise that oblivion might be attained through excess and success. Chel balances tales of high living and getting high with cautionary parables about falling down and bottoming out. Behind the designer sunglasses is a pair of weary eyes that have seen more than their fair share of dark days.

Here’s one of the albums standout cuts, “Round Of Applause”.