Phoenix artist Mouse Powell continues blurring the lines between independent hip-hop, reggae-rock and alternative music with his new single “Complicated,” featuring Tropidelic and Wax.
Released through Ineffable Records, “Complicated” is being positioned as the fifth and final single from Powell’s next full-length project, Cherry, which is set to arrive October 16.
Powell has always been a rapper first, but his catalog rarely stays inside one corner of hip-hop for long. Alternative production, reggae-rock, soul and singer-songwriter influences have repeatedly worked their way into his music, allowing him to move comfortably between scenes that do not always overlap.
“Complicated” pushes further into that crossover space by connecting Powell with Tropidelic and Wax.
The Cleveland group Tropidelic has spent years mixing reggae, rock, hip-hop, funk and alternative music, making them a natural fit for Powell’s approach. Wax brings another connection to independent hip-hop and a career built around sharp writing, humor and an equally loose relationship with genre boundaries.
The collaboration also helps place “Complicated” within the larger picture surrounding Cherry.
The upcoming 10-track album opens with “Left Hand Side,” Powell’s collaboration with Shwayze, followed by “Light as a Feather” and “I Didn’t Get This High.” “Complicated” appears fourth in the sequence before the project moves into “Fucked Up,” another previously released track from the campaign.
The album’s second half includes “Good Work,” “Dog Food,” “Waistband,” “How Did I Get Here” and “Look At Me Now.”
Shwayze brings another link to the alternative and reggae-adjacent scene. Tropidelic strengthens that connection on “Complicated,” while Powell’s history with Grieves connects Cherry back to the independent rap community that has long been central to his career.
Powell and Grieves have already released two collaborative WHY NOT? projects, with the first arriving in 2023 and WHY NOT 2? following in 2024.
Powell has continued building his catalog at a steady pace while remaining closely tied to his hometown scene, and the Cherry rollout has given him the opportunity to bring a number of his different collaborators into the same project. “Complicated” is perhaps the clearest example of that approach. Instead of asking whether a song belongs to hip-hop, alternative music or reggae-rock, Powell brings artists from those worlds together and allows the overlap to become the point.
“Complicated” featuring Tropidelic and Wax is out now through Ineffable Records.
Mouse Powell’s Cherry arrives October 16.
