The mercurial house-rap artist and producer Channel Tree took off like a rocket with a series of EPs beginning in 2018 that saw him opening for Robyn as well as linking up with her in the studio alongside the likes of SG Lewis and Disclosure. He should be a household name at this point, but last year, his first full-length album, Head Rush, finally dropped — and criminally at that to a pretty tepid response. I’m no industry insider or anything, but it really seemed like there was some major label fuckery abound in holding back its release much later than it should have arrived upon taking full advantage of his momentum.

I want to believe that “Free Your Mind”, the Compton MC’s interpretation of En Vogue’s 1992 R&B-pop-rock empowerment anthem, is his way of subliminally acknowledging that his next era will be done on his own terms. The listen — his first since departing RCA Records and joining ALTA Music Group — bounces hallucinogenic basslines and synth pongs around the club under the mastery of consummate studio collaborator Nick Sylvester (who, if you need a reminder, put out his own work of independence earlier this year…) and punctuates its statement of purpose through Tres’ silky smooth cooler head.  “Before you can read me / You’ve got to learn how to read me.” Free your mind, but maybe free your perception of who you think Channel Tres is, too.

Channel Tres’ “Free Your Mind” single is available now on ALTA Music Group.