Marcelius Kyles’ “Voice Mail” feels built for the kind of late-night drive where you have way too much on your mind. The slow R&B production has this ambient, almost floating sound behind it, while Kyles’ vocals sit smoothly over the beat. But underneath that atmosphere, the song comes from a much heavier place than you might realize just hearing it for the first time.
Kyles made the record after coming home from serving 10 years in prison. Even with his freedom back, he found himself dealing with isolation, instability and watching how much life had changed while he was gone. Old relationships were different, people he once knew had moved on, he had experienced loss within his family, and he was now trying to rebuild financially while carrying the difficulties that come with being a felon. That period of trying to move forward despite everything behind him became part of what shaped “Voice Mail.”
Interview
What was going on in your life when you made “Voice Mail”? Was it inspired by a specific person or situation?
I just got out of prison doing a 10 yr bid so I was free but still feel isolated and stagnant so alot of it came from people I once knew life changed infringement of me ex girls family loss stability and financially as a felon trying to strive to get better despite my past.
The song has this really slow, ambient atmosphere to it. When you were making it, what kind of feeling were you trying to put the listener in?
Idk really but I believe people relates to the song because I wanted it to capture a late night ride after dealing with trust issues.
Why did you decide to call the song “Voice Mail”? What does that title mean in the context of the song?
I just ran with the chorus it had a positive aspect to what I was doing.
Your vocals feel like they’re almost floating inside the production on this one. How important was the mixing and vocal sound to getting “Voice Mail” to feel the way you wanted?
To be honest I mix it myself and I didn't know what I was doing but it came out crisp and smooth. I was surprised myself when I heard it.
If somebody hears “Voice Mail” and decides to check out more of your music, what song should they listen to next and why?
Well my newest project is All These Years and thats what I'm pushing and why I recommend it because it's a style that I been working on for years even though my older projects like voicemail is my legacy songs based off the style I have today.
For Marcelius Kyles, “Voice Mail” now feels like more than just an older song in his catalog. It's part of the foundation for the sound he's still developing today. With his newer project All These Years representing where that style has gone since, “Voice Mail” gives listeners a look back at where some of those ideas and emotions came from in the first place. More importantly, his story gives the record another layer, turning that smooth late-night R&B atmosphere into the soundtrack of someone adjusting to freedom and trying to build a new life after losing 10 years of the old one.
