Smith St. Nicholas’s voice has you swooning as you listen to Our Storyline. But unfortunately, the Harlem based singer-songwriter had to endure a prolonged period of hardship before he could revive his career as an artist. All the way back in 2014, he was teaching English in rural China when an infection struck him. The infection quickly moved to his throat and lungs, entirely extinguishing his ability to sing completely. Over half a decade later, he finally regained his voice and wanted to shout from the top of a mountain in the rain. This latest release is an outpouring of emotions stemming from that experience and a triumphant return from an artist who might have lost his passion to a stroke of ill fate.
The song feels anthemic, perhaps even more so for the story behind it. But there’s a clear structure to it all, a beginning, middle, and end that gives the entire experience a cinematic quality that’s magnificent to embrace and sing along to. You want to scream at the top of a mountain and rejoice at all you have, and all you’ve overcome.