Victor PEDRO’s “Call Me, I Miss Ya!”

Within the thick, resonating grasp of a sultry bassline, Victor PEDRO’s voice elegantly penetrates the pristine instrumental backdrop of his new single “Call Me, I Miss Ya!,” a track that is quickly becoming one of the most discussed among underground releases this spring. PEDRO will stop at nothing in his quest to make us feel every ounce of the emotion occupying his heart in this song, and while the beats are inarguably the most spellbinding element in the track, they’re hardly the only reason to give this single a really close look this season, regardless of your familiarity with the artist’s work.

The reggae influences in PEDRO’s sound are only subtly referenced in “Call Me, I Miss Ya!,” but they play enough of a role in the construction of the song’s core aesthetic that they’re highly noticeable to both the expert music critic and the untrained ear alike. The vocal is smooth, sexy and riddled with a Caribbean swing that adds to the texture of the lyrics tremendously. The bass is as big and bad as they come, but it’s not so cool as to reject a little old school Dancehall flavor in its strut. PEDRO has a lot of different elements working in synchronicity here, but it never feels like he’s dealing with an overly ambitious setup.

Percussion is always a key component in getting people’s hips swaying, and “Call Me, I Miss Ya!” isn’t devoid of a devastatingly handsome beat, driven by nothing short of a blustery, well-defined drum set. The grooves are larger than life, but they don’t steal the attention away from the vocal track at all. The mix is careful to share the spotlight amongst all of the individual parts in the song, and even when there’s one element grabbing you over another, it’s never long before it’s joined by a litany of other textures originating from other places in the track.

There’s little adrenaline in this single – if any at all – but I wouldn’t say that the rhythm of the song is the least bit pendulous. The grooves are really lively and rich with organic vitality, but from start to finish, PEDRO’s relaxed attitude influences the pace of the music more than anything else does. His verses are spot-on as far as timing goes, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that this is his most confident and sleekly arranged material so far.

It’s been six years since Victor PEDRO made his debut, and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down at all in his most recent release, which should be considered one of his best yet. There’s not a lot demanded of us in “Call Me, I Miss Ya!” other than a sliver of our attention, and in exchange for this, PEDRO rewards his audience with a cultured hip-hop experience that is far and away more engaging than virtually anything that his American counterparts and closest rivals in the Old World are producing at the moment. He’s still got a ways to go before he can break out of the underground, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Levi Campbell