Artist
Loick Essien Feat. Tanya Lacey
Why we feature this artist A shared refrain with two different kinds of assurance How We Roll gives Loick Essien and Tanya Lacey a clear, compact meeting place. The 2011 single moves with a measured R&B rhythm, allowing the singers to sound confident without m…
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- United Kingdom
- Sound
- contemporary R&B
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The story of Loick Essien Feat. Tanya Lacey
Why we feature this artist
A shared refrain with two different kinds of assurance
How We Roll gives Loick Essien and Tanya Lacey a clear, compact meeting place. The 2011 single moves with a measured R&B rhythm, allowing the singers to sound confident without making every phrase a display of power. Its strongest impression is the ease with which the two voices occupy the same record.
The production leaves the exchange legible
Essien's original SoundCloud release credits The White N3rd with production and co-writing. The arrangement supports a firm melodic outline, with enough rhythmic weight to make the song feel substantial and enough restraint for the vocal details to remain audible. The refrain does not need a crowded instrumental setting to make its point.
Essien can bring a rougher edge to a sustained note, while Lacey gives the recording another colour and a different manner of attack. The interest lies in those small changes of emphasis. A shared hook sounds more convincing when the singers seem to arrive at it in their own ways.
A breakthrough held to the scale of a single
The official video appeared in spring 2011, ahead of the July single release. It preserves Lacey's featured billing, making the pairing central to the song's public identity. The licensed original recording is equally clear about the two performers.
The record reached number two in the UK during that summer. What survives beyond the release campaign is a well-proportioned vocal performance: the verses establish the attitude, the refrain gives it an easily remembered shape and the second voice prevents the repetition from becoming flat. How We Roll sounds comfortable with its own pace, which leaves the singers room to make confidence feel conversational.
Essential releases
How We Roll
The original single pairs Essien and Lacey over The White N3rd’s production, with a shared vocal refrain at its centre.