Strands of a featherweight melody dart in and out of focus. An ice cold vocal delivering chill-inducing verses cuts into the ridges between this aforementioned melodicism – as infrequently as it occupies our attention – but truth be told, it never stood a chance against 8rooklyn 8atman’s skills anyway. There aren’t any bleeding basslines or saturated percussive pulsations that suggest more of a trip-hop influence than they do anything on the mainstream side of the dial. In “Chitty Bang,” the new single from collaborators 8rooklyn 8atman and Dre da Most, the fluff that a lot of other rappers would depend on when making a track as ambitious as this one is has been left of the sidelines altogether.
8ROOKLYN 8ATMAN INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/8rooklyn_8atman/?hl=en
There isn’t any place for the mundane conceptualisms of a more simplistic crowd here; “Chitty Bang” is a sonic show of strength, and arguably just as much of a poetic showcase when it matters, which doesn’t allow for unneeded barriers between artist and audience. Putting as much stock into a groove as he does lyrical substance isn’t the only thing that sets him apart, but for my money, it could be what gives Chitty Bang more appeal this summer than many of his rivals can compete with.
8ROOKLYN 8ATMAN YOU TUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_7Fpg7_T8Yf0X91xEt7Xfg
The chemistry between 8rooklyn 8atman and Dre da Most is evident right from the jump, and I think it’s clear that they don’t have to rely on a basic script to play off of each other’s cues in “Chitty Bang” at all. Their connection with the music is obviously organic, and even though there’s a brutishness to the instrumentation from start to finish here, the streamlined vocals add a much-needed balance to the grander scheme of things that saves the song from typical indie shortcomings. The arrangement of the lyrics is quite tight, but it’s not too much for 8rooklyn 8atman to handle; if I’m being honest, I actually think he’s playing it a little conservative in this setting, which is part of the reason why I’m eager to hear him work with different styles of material and, in the long run, other artists of his caliber.
ANGHAMI: https://play.anghami.com/song/77544806
I didn’t know about 8rooklyn 8atman prior to getting a copy of “Chitty Bang” for myself just recently, but if this is a good sample of who he is as an artist within the recording studio, I’ll be looking forward to hearing more from him sooner than later. Hip-hop is in a bit of a second renaissance at the moment, and with the continued efforts of players like this one, I think that renaissance has the potential to last throughout the 2020s. 8rooklyn 8atman is shredding on an impressive level in this track, and provided he’s able to keep the same creative trajectory that he’s got at the moment, I think he’s going to score a lot of big points with critics and audiences that extend well beyond myself. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from here on out, and I would highly recommend that you do the same.
Jodi Marxbury