Music | Arts & Culture | Newhallville | Grief
“Time To Heal” opens with a swanky guitar lead and soul sample, grabbing listeners almost instantly. As it blooms into fast, ear-grabbing lyrics and a tight rhyme scheme, it doesn’t let them go.
“Time To Heal" comes from Young Klean—or as he is more affectionately known by his family and friends, Mango. Five years or so after arriving on the city's evolving hip-hop scene with his hit “Ville Shit”, the Newhallville-based rapper has released a track that is part confessional, part evolution, and full of heart and honesty. It is also a time capsule of where he's been, and where he wants to go next.
The artist was born and raised in Newhallville, the neighborhood that has since become his musical home. Currently, the 25-year-old splits his time between the studio, playing basketball in New Haven, most recently in the Bassett Tournament in Newhallville, and taking care of his infant daughter Kaylee. In June, the track arose from the grief that followed the loss of some close friends and family members.
“I’m gonna let the world know how I feel because I know there are plenty of people feeling the same way I feel," he said in a recent interview. "So that’s the type of music I’m gonna make: Feel good music. This is gonna describe how you feel about your life or what’s next in your life or what you been going through.”
In the midst of the pandemic, the artist lost several of the people closest to him, he said in a recent interview. Reeling from loss, Young Klean took to the studio. He freestyled the song, bars coming together as he treated the recording space as a therapy session.
“It’s literally my feelings," he said. "Through my music I learned to express myself more. Instead of just rapping or whatever, this is actually how I feel, actually what I’m going through now.”
The track marks a stark shift in his lyrical content and sound. Previously, Young Klean’s music was much closer to the music of the Midwest and New York, regions whose style have constantly been utilized in Connecticut hip-hop. “Time To Heal '' shows Mango growing into his own sonically, and making the best use of experimentation. The production on the record is soulful and melodic, a deviation from the hard-hitting and amplified sounds of his past.
The opening lyrics, “Don’t know if I’m gonna make it, only time will tell,” is a perfect encapsulation of the thematic nature of the record. The bar is also a call to the uncertain vision of what the future may hold for the artist, of whether or not he will be able to make it to the next level of not only his music career—but his life. The song is not wrapped exclusively in doom and gloom, but also redemption and purpose.
The track is short and sweet, clocking in under three minutes, and the brevity of the song is accompanied by a sincere sense of clarity. Young Klean doesn’t waste a single second to tell a listener exactly what’s on his mind—and even if it's hard can’t relate to the story, they can feel the weight of his words. “Time To Heal” covers exactly what the title implies: the beginning of a long, complicated recovery process.
When looking towards the future, Young Klean’s goals are to elevate New Haven’s status in the world of music, he said. He hopes to create a pathway for both himself and the other musicians in the area to find the success the city deserves.
“It’s time for all these big record labels and these big musicians to hear what New Haven has in store," he said. "And it ain’t even just about me, it’s for the whole city. That’s next for me, putting the city on a platform where everybody knows what New Haven is capable of.”
Listen to the track here.