Angelo Mota Bares His Soul on 'i changed my mind'

Angelo Mota Bares His Soul on 'i changed my mind'

BYJade Gomez​Apr 21, 2023

Angelo Mota, whether you know of him or not, makes the vulnerable not feel voyeuristic. The 27-year-old New Jersey singer, rapper, producer and songwriter refuses to put up a barrier, instead pulling up a chair for listeners as he walks them through his brilliant psyche.

On his latest record i changed my mind, his first full-length release since 2021's collaborative release ZAÏRE with WELL$, and his first solo release since 2018's When All Is Said And Done, Mota synthesizes the tumultuous feelings of diving headfirst into his passion with palpable hunger and earnest, unsure but hopeful of the future.

There is a decadent, indulgent quality to Mota's music. His vocals placate all guilt and worries, almost absorbing everything into himself. Across themes of lust, love and longing across platonic, romantic and professional relationships, Mota is unafraid to free fall right into everything. Feelings big and small share equal weight in his world, and his music partially comes from a compulsive need to create and be heard. I changed my mind is Mota bearing wounds and all, ultimately finding solace in the exact things that make it uncomfortable to sit with ourselves for too long.

Below, Mota breaks down his newest album, I changed my mind, track-by-track.

​"i’ll never forgive you"

this was originally supposed to be what the album was called. big exercise in self awareness and the concept of forgiveness. mikewavvs made the greatest sample ever to let my thoughts out.

"​cut up"

this is the first instance on the album where the beat switches, and it also has the most changes out of any songs on the project. i’m trying to show both sides of my brain and how they battle with each other, with the end kind of meshing them together.

​"cat got my tongue"

this record is just mad fun, i don’t know how to describe it but i was really into young thug and carti when i was making it. this record was made first on the album and was also around when i stopped listening to music.

"​the rounds"

i really love this record a lot; it’s definitely my favorite on here. i wanted to play with the idea of making a “radio single” but switching it up at a point where nobody would expect it. i took a lot of time crafting the switch here, it was hard though. shoutout to matt (hmsh) and trey kams for absolutely taking the second half of the song to the next level.

"come back in an hour"

I made this song during one of the lowest points of my life about taking time before engaging in an argument/any situation, weighing the pros and cons of “being right” or just letting it go. i do love being right though.

"choice"

some good ol’ fashioned jersey club. we’re lamenting but we’re also gonna fuckin dance.

"vendetta"

this record was to show i can still rap my ass off. i have done more of a melodic focus for the past couple years and i absolutely love to remind people that i’m from jersey and we really do this rapping shit. jon waltz has the voice of an angel.

"chemicals"

none of us ever really wanna give up the things we love, and we all work so hard to make our passions something we can live off of and wake up every day to do. some days are harder than others, and this song is about the hard days.

"can’t be yours"

ugh. love song where i don’t feel like i’m good enough to be loved. this one reminds me of how happy i am that i come to a resolution in most of my songs about the problems i’m having; more than anything i’m always willing to do better and be better.

"eyes can’t see"

2000s ass shaking music. timbaland is a legend but so is mikewavvs. shoutout cj francis for slaughtering this weird ass beat. i love the line “foot in the soil, foot in the door.” kinda sums up my experiences as of late.

"overthinking"

none of this song's lyrics exist on paper or digitally. i freestyled the whole thing. another tough song where i acknowledge i’m not as alone as i think i am, and it’s a lot closer to home than i ever could have imagined. sometimes my idle thoughts get the best of me.

https://independent.ffm.to/ichangedmyminddirected by bull//matador (angelo mota + elena ganz) dp: lucien battistecamera assist/PA: monica moraesedit/color: b...

I changed my mind is out now on all streaming platforms.

Photos courtesy of Elena Ganz