Coming out of the incandescent creative halls in the Bronx, BRIEL the Artist said something strong on July 28, 2025, and released DAMN GENESIS which is an interesting mixtape consisting of ten tracks and the burst of self-destruction and a new start. Drawn upon the ideas of Alternative R&B, Hip‑Hop, Indie grit, and vaporous soul, it is a collection that is disregarding clearly outlined genres and, instead, focuses on emotional richness and raw feelings of expression.
Even in the very first song, titled THE BLINDS, there is an overwhelming impression of wavy rebirth: the cool drumming and sparse tunes are swirling and the husky, hypnotically beautiful voice of BRIEL the Artist is humming: I am blind, so you can feel like spinning into the light rays of the sun: you are welcome to explore, you are welcome to fall, to be a dancer in the sun… In the meantime, the theme of everyday struggle to live prevails in the song, with the chorus of bells and boombap beats supporting the conflict between financial and material existence and self-identity.
BRIEL the Artist balances swagger and sentiment even in pulsating songs, such as the two hit singles in my rotation, ATTENTION! and NAH NAH NAH, in which he scratches in patterns that are redolent of the 90s and 808 flare, all the time complaining about emotional manipulation and bad habits. SITUATIONSHIP and LADIES SONG show sensitive self-examination, exposing the cracks in the trust and the importance of self-love, transforming into multifaceted views between weaknesses and strengths.
Every song is nothing but a piece of a phoenix that comes into life. The deliberate demolition of DAMN compensates the delicate creation of GENESIS- it is rough and downright, yet liberating. A&R Factory refers to it as an exploration of the themes of faith, queerness, vulnerability and, the murky corners usually hidden under the spotlight. Whether you are bouncing up between “BLUR” or floating in the confessions of “PRETTY,” you are traveling across change- of being uncertain and becoming real, of inscriptions to innovations.
A Black American singer-songwriter of the Bronx origin, BRIEL the Artist grew up in R &B, Hip‑Hop and Pop music. Their career ignited when they were just 16 years old, and in 2025, they would be taking centre stages and the Apollo Theater and Brooklyn Museum, which was the stage where they self-devised their self-curated Coming of the Year Sessions.
Benign to confessions of vulnerability in the beginning, BRIEL the Artist found his cure in confessional realness- on the spiritual level in the first instance and artistically in the final instance. They have elaborated their faith experience, including grappling with religious trauma and later the work on the relationship with Christ, as being the origin of DAMN GENESIS in their interviews. It was obvious that they were not composing songs only, but providing potent milestones in their way to the recovery.
In music, the project relies on the wide color scale jazz-tinged drums, late-soul bass, gritty 90s hip-hop scratch, and wispy indie textures. Critics mention that the mixtape flows stylistically so effortlessly, in that it will not settle in a particular lane, rather therapeutically channels the energy of a community in blazingly chaotic but beautiful noise. They had done most of the project themselves, writing and recording in little more than a couple of months, then a talented engineer refined the mix, so there is an immediacy as well as depth.
DAMN GENESIS is not a set of ten songs rather a staged metamorphosis. It starts with the discomforting pairing of blindfolded identity crisis: head into the tunnel to negotiate self-worth crises in ‘CHEQUE!, emotional to reckon: reporting in “ATTENTION!, NAH NAH NAH, and boarding forth CARGO in SituationSHIP.
At its middle, midway through the album the tapescape transforms into empowerment, reclamation: LADIES SONG sings choruses of self-respect; SHOT ON ME combines seductive soul with a party, DANGEROUS accepts the warning of flawed connection; BLUR plunges into the mist of an emotional distance. At last, PRETTY ends the story, and it states acceptance and grace via imperfection.
This path is the same as the one experienced by BRIEL the Artist: transitioning out of a character shaped by other people and their expectations to a self-created alter-ego wholeheartedly accepted. All stylistic and tonal changes and shifts are deliberate and point to the messiness of rebirth. And since it is based on spiritual and personal truth it seems like an invitation: this is a messy rebirth, and it is ours as well.
Track Playlist & Analysis
1) THE BLINDS
Blistering drums, little melodic piece, hoarse timbre of the voice causes an association of blindness in the sun.
2) CHEQUE
Boombap beat with bells; discussion of financial obligations over self esteem.
3) ATTENTION!
Retro bass and claps; melodic bragadocious wordplay evens out a chorus.
4) NAH NAH NAH
808 kicks, scratchy 90s swag; sing-rap swag taking on mind games that verge as toxic.
5) SITUATIONSHIP
Slowballad self-examination of trust, relations, story within story.
6) LADIES SONG
Seven 70s; a tribute to the female independence and inner power.
7) SHOT ON ME
Singing, soul driving; light-hearted assention of genuine relating after achievement.
8) DANGEROUS
Casual funk; contemplation of lies and and love and Gemini twins.
9) BLUR
Jazzy rhythms, vocals with metaphors on the flow of time and faded time.
10) PRETTY
Outro of dream like ambient vocals and intimate conversation with unconditional love declaration.
BRIEL the Artist rejects the past narratives and proudly takes the role of self-author in DAMN GENESIS. It is complex, raw, and poetic such that you might call it a journal with a pulse. It is a premiere that does not ask you to come around: it demands to be seen at the downfall and the ascent. To listeners who want the truth as it is, vulnerability that wears a spine and reincarnation in the music, DAMN GENESIS is a thought-provider of first chapters.
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