Although my plans to make this a regular segment fell through, I felt it was about time to do another one of these. Here’s four songs I’m loving right now. – Chris (@108seraph)
Lil Disceased & Ferrara – Outsiders
The latest collaboration from Lil Disceased and Ferrara is one of their most introspective yet. Over beautifully soulful production from underground mainstay Stevie Durag, the two rappers deliver lyrics addressing overcoming hardship and finding solace in their respective hustles. Disceased in particular is on top form here, delivering an endless barrage of Southern Gawth goodness further bolstered by the serenity of Stevie’s vocal chops. Ferrara spits fire as usual, his flow switching multiple times and his delivery softening as he pines towards the end of the track ‘Let me leave, it’s time to go’. Truly an anthem for the downtrodden, and for those seeking a relief from between the hardships of everyday life.
Finessley – BooHoo
The newest upload from the rapper formerly known as WellyBlanco is another GREAF-produced track that displays the obvious influence that TeamSESH has had on the Seattle rapper’s music. He certainly carves his own sound in this well established lane of atmospheric cloud rap, however, as his increasingly adept flows carry the song much further than the beat. GREAF’s hauntingly melodic work is as great as ever, but its Finessley’s ability to turn any beat into a hazy, ethereal trap banger that sets his work apart. An incredibly consistent artist with a huge catalogue of material like this, I cannot recommend the work of any up and coming artist more than Finessley’s.
Yung Leo, Jackie Platinum & Bedhead – Memory
Fresh off the release of Leo’s excellent debut album Fall in Love, Stay Alive, the rapper has already been hard at work delivering high-quality singles as an accompaniment. ‘Memory’ is a special track because Leo is actually relegated to the hook and a brief verse here, his vocals reminding me of pre-Fall in Love track ‘LAX’. The two guests are Jackie Platinum (who I am familiar with) and Bedhead (who prior to this I was not), and each offers a unique spin on the speed-plug production courtesy of remghost and twintails. Jackie’s verse is loud and bold, the second half of his performance taking advantage of a drumless section of the song to deliver one of its best lyrical moments: Hey ‘Leo, I’m a tiger and that’s why they fucking scared of me’. Bedhead’s verse is more reserved, dipping into the track’s emotional undercurrent to close things off beautifully.
Iris Day & Skiki XO – Come2Grips
Post-name change, Iris Day fka Nari has adapted to their sound to be more straightforwardly melodic. Abandoning some of the madness of their past work hasn’t sacrificed any of their musical greatness, however, as ‘Come2Grips’ is as fantastically hooky as anything in the Nari discography to date. Self-produced alongside fortuneswan, the all too brief track still manages to do very interesting things with its runtime. From the 50 second mark onward, the song leans much further into adjacent electronic genres and also sports a vocal cameo from Shiki XO, whose work I will definitely be looking out for in the future. Although their musical legacy was already set in stone following such a brilliant 2020 and first half of 2021, with a new name and sound in their arsenal it seems that Iris Day still has plenty to show us throughout the rest of the year.
108 MICS 