Brodinski feat Bloody Jay – Us
French techno boffin Brodinski teamed up with Young Thug collaborator and fellow Black Portland visionary Bloody Jay for a trippy joint that joins the dots between the Lille producer’s European influence and Atlanta’s post-trap sound. The rest of Brodinski’s album Brava features a who’s who of under-30 rappers, with Young Scooter, Yung Gleesh and Gucci Mane protege Peewee Longway all featuring. Just as Arca has gone on to work on Björk’s Vulnicura album after featuring on Yeezus, the Kanye West project has also given Brodinski access to some of rap’s rising stars.
Future – Codeine Crazy
Atlanta’s self-confessed weirdo, Future, returns with an ode to purple drank. The track is one of his ballads, which focuses on codeine-induced paranoia (who shot Tupac?, etc), but it’s the video that makes this one stand out. Wild horses, pastoral, purple-tinted scenes and shots of Mr Nayvadius Cash sat by himself wearing a tux and looking more forlorn than a jilted teenager after a prom night gone awry. It genuinely is crazy.
Killah Priest – Lotus Elephant
Wu-Tang affiliate and mystic curio Killah Priest returns with a nugget of bonkers, mask-wearing boom-bap. Think Kool Keith, but with more large land mammals and less porn. In the 68-second clip – a teaser to his forthcoming album Planet of the Gods – Priest crams in references to aliens and throws in lines such as “I can tell you about the protons and the neutrons”, in a video that’s as lo-fi as it is hilarious.
Drake – Jungle
It’s 2015, so that means Drake has to release a 14-minute arty short film to accompany his 100% not-free mixtape. One of the best things about a new Drake album/mixtape/single is a Big Ghost review. The ebonics-laden summary is full of metaphors like this: “He slid thru the door into a hip-hop world that was stuck on bagels n donuts n ya boy Drizzy said yo … Imma put yall up on these scones.” Jungle is indeed a slightly stodgy, cream-filled snack. Harking back to the swooning ballads he made his name with, Drake goes on about his favourite subject: relationship breakdown and mutual paranoia. The film itself is a bit like the first half of Michael Jackson’s Bad, where MJ painted himself as a reluctant tough guy before donning a leather jacket and thrusting his groin at the camera.
Warren G and Kenny G – Regulate
One of the biggest g-funk anthems recently got rejigged on Jimmy Kimmel courtesy of sax iconoclast Kenny G. The one thing that stands out from the performance, apart from Kenny G’s hair, is how well suited the track is to a middle-aged Warren G who seemed perfectly comfortable with his middle-aged spread.
