But yes, the anonymous artist has emerged from the shadows with new music for the first time in over a year (and longer if you consider just “Goodbye Tomorrow”). Alas, what other way to comeback than with some hard-hitting raps? The quick-hitting, 2-minute jam is a goin’ out anthem mixed with some gems from the emcee within. “No Announcements” is only intended to be a warmup with a full-length project building up from here. And believe us: Maks G & I were back home in Chicago for the listening party and there is another level to come. Until then…
A slept on song and visual from Goodbye Tomorrow, now known as preme__xy. Posting this as I listen to another collab on the way between Preme and Yazzy… 👀
On the heels of one of my favorite albums from anyone in 2015 this past August, we have hands down the coolest visuals I’ve seen for a music video yet this year.
Goodbye Tomorrow takes one of their strongest gems from their self-titled debut — “The Way” — and turns it into a video game infused, sci-fi action thriller. Label it a music video if you like, but it plays off much bigger than that. It’s really a 7 minute short film, with the budget and technical execution of a major motion picture.
The song, heard in full below, is spliced through much of the video and becomes the soundtrack to the story that plays out. It pits the Rebels and our young Neo-esque leader “Q’Seem” vs. Zero, leader of The Million, which represent the evil machines you can associate to the many corporations, or even individuals, you may encounter in life who try to control you. Q’Seem represents you, the youth, and The Way.
I’ll let the story unfold from there as I marvel at the many superb technical aspects that make this video have the proper, cinematic feel. Let’s see… how about all of the cool, custom designed video game allusions? Throwback to the 80s and 90s combined with a Call of Duty style presentation to the real-life scenes. They also must’ve had drones or choppers for some of the breathtaking aerial scenes that capture the hometown Chicago in the distance. Visually, how ’bout the color correction too? And then the score of the entire short film itself, hitting the right mood and amplifying the scale of each scene. Take note of every detail really, all the way through to the credits at the end. (A deep dive into the easter eggs reveals Rick Wayne the director.)
Overall, it’s the message too: powerful and inspiring for anyone to take control of their own life. Here’s the message/video breakdown, in their own words, said to Noisey.
“Døn͢’t givë̠̠ in͓ tø dü̠̠ality⃔. ₸he wo͛®ld i$ not sø b⃕la¢k and white͙. peÅce №t ¢om͓prømis⃒e… The concept of the video is the fucking truth…like, that’s the truth, that’s how the world actually is. It’s actually evil motherfuckers that are machine ass niggas that take you and program you. That’s the real truth, every day that shit happens. They wanna tame motherfuckers and put niggas into a box because if we’re pre-programmed to be a certain way then it’s easier to control what we’ll think and what we do. Until you see that, there’s no way to stop it, no outside help, it only come from you. That’s what you can take away from the video, song, album, all that. It’s just about the battle for your true self. You can’t never let somebody tell you who you are, what you are, what you can or can’t do, none of that. All the external, worldly, temporary shit is just a trick to get you off the way and shit.
¯_(ツ)_/¯ “
Press play, hit the full screen button, and press the *popcorn* button on the microwave. Do that, maybe in reverse actually. Ha!
August has quite possibly delivered my favorite month of new music in 2015.
I don’t want the month to go any longer without bringing more attention to the four projects you see pictured above, especially because in this day and age of new music consumption, it feels like releases even a week old are being slept on because they’re somehow not that fresh of a new release.
Click the links for my detailed reviews on why they’re my favorites, the full streams, and amazing visuals from both artists. Below, here’s a couple Soundcloud streams of the many standout tracks to get ya started.
FKA Twigs “In Time” (will begin playing)
The other 2 projects I want to highlight represent more of the progression in Chicago music. The freshly signed G.O.O.D. Music artist HXLT dropped a new EP, Cover Me, showing a new side of his versatility as he cleverly sang and covered a variety of alternative hits. And Mick Jenkins tops it off with his hotly anticipated Wave[s] that should only continue to catapault his budding rap stardom for the rest of the year. Like above, click the links along with a couple of my favorites heard below.
Gowhere Hip Hop 