With melody, voice, “Trust Issues” and an EP, Goshen moves hip hop onto his own path

With “Trust Issues,” the featured single of his debut, six-track EP, Goshen is introducing his melodic style of hip hop.

The song is a mix of hip hop, trap and Goshen’s unique blend of voice and melody. “Trust Issues” begins with a hypnotic chanting intro set to a piano background, then abruptly transitions into trap.

Goshen — Marvin Lewis — has been rapping since he was a teenager and now, at age 30, is turning a passion into a career, but his rap and hip hop have evolved into what he describes as “heavy, melodic hip hop.”

Using “Trust Issues” as an introduction was a conscious decision.

“Because I have a different type of style, I want people to hear something they’re used to. That’s why it sounds like a trap song but with a touch of me on it,” he said.

The lyrics are rap, but the beat and the piano carry a melody. In other songs on the EP, Goshen in Motion, the lyrics are rap in form, but sung.

“My genre is constantly evolving. I started off with hip hop. That’s my base, but I’m introducing new types of melodies to the genre. Instead of it being based on lyrics and light melodies, I’m reversing that order, with a melodic base and the lyrics coming out of that.”

He calls “Trust Issues” a party beat, “a feel-good song,” despite the subject matter, which, as the title says, is trust issues, beginning with a bad-news girlfriend.

One night fling, that’s a one time thing 
Phone on silent that is no ring
When she approached me she had no ring 

“It derives from my experiences from, in general, not being able to trust people in relationships,” he said. “The central theme of the song, its hook and its title, is that the average person has trust issues.”

The hook adds a defiant tone.

That’s why I only trust dollas (dollas)
that only makes sense 
Slide on me, nooo (trust issues yeah)
Eyes on me, nooo (trust issues yeah)

The feel-good comes partly from the melodies. The lyrics ride on a trickling, repetitive piano sequence that runs like a river underneath the words.

The other part is a distinctive Goshen feature, and that is the personas he adopts here and there. Where a song introduces a new lyrical paragraph, he will render the turn in a different voice and accent — a different person.

“It allows me to express a different side of myself, kind of like an actor. It was taking on a different identity for seven or eight seconds.” The identity, tone, voice and accent vary from song to song and sometimes within a song.

“I don’t have any rhyme or reason as to why I take on a certain tone or a certain accent, except it sounds good, and certain tones harmonized better with certain beats.”

All his songs deal with everyday things, like “Night and Day” with the hustle of trying to make it in life; “LoveHate” with the push-pull of relationships; or “Poseidon” with bad dreams and the daily grind.

“I just feel like, in all good art, you want to take a real-life situation and build upon it, add your imagination to it,” he said.

After “Trust Issues,” his tracks are much more melodic, the music much more prominent, the lyrics in harmony with the beats and melodies instead of the rap setting its own beat.

“His music,” he says in his official bio, “speaks to the struggles of people in the community, and he uses his platform to spread messages of hope and resilience.” The music makes that true. The lyrics tell the story, but the melodies and instruments carry the hope.

The title of his EP, released just this year, is a statement: Goshen in Motion. It has already acquired thousands of streams.

“I’m really grateful for my listeners and fans. I just came out of the gate, and I’m getting a lot of traction. I’m grateful for that.”

Next for him is a mixtape with another six or so songs. He has two recorded so far. The plan is to put out a mixtape every couple of months. “That’s what I promised myself.”

Live performances, which he has not done since college, are also in his plans.

“My goal,” he said, “is to get some features with artists who have a bigger platform than I, to gain more exposure, and to put out more music, more videos. I want to connect with my fans more. I just really want to blow up.

Stay connected to Goshen, as he blows up, on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

“Trust Issues”
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