New Orleans native Real Rell has changed his music and his message on new mixtape

If there’s a theme right now for Tyrell “Real Rell” Augustin and his music, it’s this: change.

The New Orleans native, who moved to Atlanta after Hurricane Katrina, once experienced a taste of the street life and his music followed suit. But Real Rell’s new releases are something different, venturing into social issues and delivering more positive messages.

“It’s really changed from being more, I don’t want to say negative, but as far as my topics I’m writing about more serious things now,” he says.

He addresses the changes directly in “Graduated,” which all started with a beat that caught his attention.

“The first word that came to my mind was graduated,” he says. “I made a metaphor out of it with everything I’ve been through and I wanted to incorporate these changes. It was just a play on words, but a meaning came behind it.”

And his new mixtape, Answer The Call, is more of the same. Featuring 13 tracks, he says it’s a product of his current experimental stage and it even caught those who know him best off guard.

“The people who are used to my old music, they’ve loving it and they adjusted to it,” he says. “At first they were like what are we doing here but when they really listened to it I got good feedback. It’s something that needs to be heard, that’s what one of my partners was telling me. It’s something that needs to be heard.”

The tape’s first track, “Answer the Call,” sets a softer tone from the start and features a sample from Luther Vandross. “I always liked his songs,” Real Rell says.

That experimental stage – and his newfound focus on social issues – is on display in “Plantation,” with Real Rell rapping: “Up from New Orleans, baby, I’ve seen a plantation. We want reparations, I want my 40 acres. I want some type of compensation for my people’s labor.”

“‘Plantation’ is something I never did before,” he says. “The beats were different, the words, the sounds were different.”

Right now Real Rell is focused on putting on some new shows and promoting his new self and new music, in addition to ghostwriting and working on new beats.

“I’m a hard worker and I’m consistent,” he says. “Most definitely trying to get out to the people.”

For more, follow Real Rell on Instagram and Twitter (realrellvinny) and Facebook (moneyman.venny). His website is realrellmusic.com and his music is available on YouTube and Spotify.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realrellvinny