In between all the pop stars who are trying to get our attention with doing or wearing crazy things, there’s Mr Probz. The Dutch singer, rapper and songwriter is the guy next door. He wants to be known by his music and not by anything else.
He’s not as shy as some other musicians with the same ideal - Mr Probz is doing some interviews and such - but basically, he’s not a “let’s-scream-it-from-the-rooftops”-kind of guy. For those unfamiliar to traditional Dutch culture, it is somewhat the national attitude to just act normal.
But it is his music that turned out to have an international allure. Once he managed to get himself in the picture, things started to evolve pretty quickly with his 2013 single “Waves” bringing him international fame and international collaborations.
It’s his international collaborations that kept him from releasing his own solo material for a while, but that all changed last week, when he released his brand new single “Fine Ass Mess”.
In an interview, Mr Probz explained that the song is about a woman, who looks great on the outside, but is a total mess inside. That leaves the title open to a double interpretation. It also inspired the singer to link it to a darker criminal story line in his video.
The song is catchy and soulful, but lacks the strength that “Waves” had, even in the unremixed version. It’s still very commercial and carries he integrity of Mr Probz really well.
Mr Probz is an interesting blend of many flavors. In his biggest hits like “Waves” and “Nothing Really Matters”, you can hear the soul influence, but the singer has an undeniable hip hop background as well. He’s gained a lot of respect as a rapper, of which the mainstream audience may have never even heard.
It’s that mix that has given him the ability to attach a wide audience to him. But, it also gives him the problem many artists experience when they arise from the underground scene: Early fans feel like he sold out and turned his sound too commercial in order to gain success. And yes, it would be nice if some of his other sides would be attracting the same attention, because let’s face it, the hits are usually pretty laid back, but it is this side that makes him all the more interesting.
