‘Money?’ delivers a truly hypnotic and otherworldly listening experience. It moves with quiet restraint, yet it also feels heavy and bold. It’s the sort of track that doesn’t need to be loud to capture one’s attention. Simply, its intensity arises from the artistic aura that surrounds it. southpaw calls it by a specific term, ‘calculated chill’, a definition that we truly resonate with. ‘Money?’ starts as a light breeze, yet the way we perceive it grows exponentially during the course of its two minutes. It’s a record that doesn’t instantly shock, but that instead slowly builds an unexpected grip on you, blooming into a strikingly brooding atmosphere.
Hailing from San Francisco, talented producer southpaw teamed up with rapper Era51 and singer Blvck Svm, a very effective collab that approaches modern hip-hop with deep eclecticism and hints of leftfield character. The three creatives are not happy with the status quo: instead, they are trying to uncover something deeper, giving the US hip-hop scene a new angle. The result is highly satisfactory: ‘Money?’ feels like a breath of fresh air, and the start of something new. The track is taken from southpaw’s latest album ‘Don’t Run From The Rain’.
Delving into the highly collaborative ethos that shaped the acute artistic vision behind ‘Money?’, southpaw explains: “I produced the record and curated the collaboration of Era 51 & Blvck Svm. My goal was to blend avant-garde hip-hop with lo-fi sensibilities, using impactful drums and custom foley (like the cash register percussion) to create a ‘heavy’ yet chill energy while paying respect to elements of innovative classics. The project grew out of a shared desire to push the boundaries of alt-rap.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Money?’ now: