Here are a few more updates to your summer playlist.
In an era where nearly any anticipated release has the odds to drop on a Friday, a couple of my favourite artists decided to unexpectedly f*ck up my Wednesday night with four new Chance the Rapper songs and a Brockhampton single…Here we go.
In terms of music, Chance the Rapper has been pretty quiet lately. It’s crazy to think that it’s been just over two years since he last blessed us with the award-winning mixtape Coloring Book. Earlier this week an interview with The Chicago Tribune sent internet publications and hip-hop heads alike into a frenzy after implying a new Chance project would arrive just in time for his Special Olympics event this Saturday. After much speculation, the rumours were unfortunately shut down by Chano via Twitter. Little did we know, that Thursday Chance would release a collection of four new songs in an unexpected, yet greatly appreciated drop. While it’s unsure whether these new cuts will be a part of his next project or are simply throwaways, they are to be thoroughly enjoyed and should hold fans over for the time being.
The first of the four is “65th & Ingleside”, a passionate vocal performance including honest verses about the relationship with his fiancé, his personal growth and various involvements within his life. The second track is titled “Work Out”, an uber-positive wavy song about a simple philosophy that everything will work out in the end. “Wala Cam” is the third song, which includes clever rapid-fire verses and a stellar guest feature from Chicago artist Supa Bwe. Last of all is “I Might Need Security”, where we find Chance spitting over a melodic sample of Jamie Fox repetitively singing “f*ck you”. It’s tongue-in-cheek, memorable as ever and the flow is impeccable. In addition to that, he throws shots at the Chicago mayor and announces that he purchased a publication called The Chicagoist to “keep these racist bi*ches out of business”. With Chance’s fourth official project on the way and a Kanye collaboration rumoured to drop this month, more Chano is definitely soon to come. Each of the four songs are available on all streaming platforms or can be found on YouTube. We’re eaaaaaating.
Next there’s Brockhampton who continued their quest to be boyband of the summer last night with their latest “1998 Truman”, premiering it on their late-night Beats One radio show The Things We Lost in The Fire. It follows the OutKast-esque “1999 Wildfire” which dropped just under two weeks ago. It’s presumed that these are singles to their fourth studio album The Days of Our Lives, set to come out sometime soon. These new songs are meant to provide a soundtrack to your endless summer.
“1998 Truman” is an energetic, wild posse-cut that is reminiscent of the early Saturation days. It isn’t as simple as it seems though, as it switches near the end from head-banging to sonically gorgeous with an outro from Bearface and Kevin Abstract. Merlyn is back, missing from the previous single, to deliver an aggressive in-your-face hook and Joba absolutely kills his verse (seemingly a common factor of each new drop). Production on the single was truly a team effort, produced by members Romil, Joba, Ciaran (aka Bearface), Ian (aka Kevin) and Bari. Accompanying the single in typical Brockhampton fashion is a brand-new music video directed by mastermind Kevin Abstract. Brockhampton has ditched their DIY music video style to a high-production, crisp visual quality. The video for “1998 Truman” is colourful and hectic effectively matching the songs energy. The best parts include a series of four Dom McLennons rapping together, a crew mosh-pit in the parking lot and the outro set in a boxing-ring. Be sure to expect more Brockhampton on the horizon and definitely be on the lookout for new episodes of their Apple Music radio show.