Connect with us

Music

Chance The Rapper Releases His ‘Are U Live’ Video With Jeremih And Valee

The Chicago rappers spread holiday cheer as they encourage one of their own to get well soon. …

Chance The Rapper and Jeremih’s 2016 holiday mixtape Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama is an odd bit of internet ephemera. It’s a fan favorite, yet fans can only stream it sporadically, as the two uploaded the project and its 2017 follow-up to SoundCloud originally but not to more mainstream services like Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. While Jeremih is currently recovering from a bad case of COVID-19, Chance decided to spread a little holiday cheer by releasing the video for one of the project’s songs, “Are U Live,” after holding onto it since 2017.

The video was directed by Cole Bennett (no relation to Chance or his brother Taylor) of Lyrical Lemonade at the start of his rise as one of hip-hop’s most sought-after video shooters, while the track itself was produced by ChaseTheMoney, a SoundCloud rapper go-to who has since produced for Dreamville and J. Cole on Revenge Of The Dreamers III and JID’s DiCaprio 2. Like plenty of Cole Bennett’s previous works, the video blends a low-fi aesthetic with a simple concept, as well a cheeky sense of humor with on-screen captions pointing out a failed “successful dap” and more. He even appears in the video, although you’ll have to have a sharp eye to catch his cameo.

The song isn’t what you’d call a traditional Christmas song, with its call-and-response, sparse beat, and the artists’ rap athletics. But the video displays their festive mood, with Santa caps and fairy lights aplenty decorating their red cup turn up.

Watch “Are U Live” above and listen to Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama below.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Artist Spotlight

Neurolapse opens up buried feelings into a rebellious release “Fvck These Feelings”

Neurolapse

Neurolapse channel released feelings that had been held inside for too long with “Fvck These Feelings.” That emotional urgency also translates into the writing process itself, with some of the lyrics coming in the early hours of the morning and insisting on being put down. From there, it was developed into a track that turns personal emotional pressure into a collective experience for listeners.

What is interesting about the song is the tension between the emotional base it draws on and the freedom it seeks to create. The song is born of the difficulty of releasing painful feelings, but its effect is anything but restrained. The band wants the song to make listeners dance, shout along, and let go of the emotions they have been carrying. This gives “Fvck These Feelings” an intuitive quality, turning frustration and emotional exhaustion into an opportunity to let go.

Something is refreshing about the song’s directness. Instead of bottling up feelings and keeping them a secret, “Fvck These Feelings” celebrates the messy process of letting them out. It gives people a chance to identify what they’ve been holding on to, and a place to let it out. Neurolapse takes a tough internal experience and turns it into something energetic, expressive, and communal. This is a track designed not simply to be heard, but to be felt and released through movement.

Connect with Neurolapse on Spotify || Instagram || Youtube

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Artist Spotlight

KUILL unveils a testimony from the pain of memory on latest release “Last Night”

KUILL

KUILL‘s latest release, “Last Night” is a very human approach to memory. It is about those moments we only realize were important after they are already gone. This song is not about a specific event, but about growing up, about time passing and about people and places we once assumed would always be there. Its emotional core is born of the painful realization that a final moment rarely announces itself as it unfolds.

“Last Night” is subtle yet cinematic, letting KUILL’s signature voice do the heavy lifting in telling the story. His restrained vocal delivery creates space for the listener to bring his own memories. Its shimmering world can be the last evening before leaving home, a family holiday, or a carefree summer with childhood friends. The result is intimate, yet it doesn’t constrain the listener’s interpretation.

The artwork accompanying the piece enhances that feeling with broken reflections of KUILL, placing him between past and present. It’s the essence of the song: memories tend to fade with time and become less about the details of what happened and more about how those times made us feel. “Last Night” takes that quiet sadness and lets you sit with it.

Connect with KUILL on Spotify || Instagram || Facebook

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Video Of The Week

Trending