Black Thought holds a mic in an all white suite and white hat
Photo Credit: Erika Goldring/Getty Images
Black Thought & Danger Mouse Share New Song With A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels
The Black Thought and Danger Mouse collaborative album, Cheat Codes, will feature MF DOOM, Raekwon, Conway the Machine and more when it drops this Friday.
On August 12, Danger Mouse is releasing the first hip-hop album he’s produced since 2005’s Danger-DOOM effort, THE MOUSE & THE MASK. His latest effort, Cheat Codes, will be a collaboration album with Black Thought, and if the singles we’ve already been treated to — like today’s A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels-assisted “Strangers” — are a sign of what’s to come, expect Danger-Thought to extend the summer’s lingering heat wave.
“Strangers” kicks the eardrums with a grimy, reverberating beat that settles somewhere between the gritty underground sound of the Danger Mouse-produced sophomore Gorillaz record Demon Days, and the high-speed dystopia of Run the Jewels in the era of RTJ 3.
“I'm super hot and beyond your range / It's kinda strange how the change in climate / Ain't because of climate change,” Black Thought spits in the first verse, striking an on-brand balance of socially-conscious and boldly-braggadocious that runs the length of the track’s four verses.
The carefully articulated aggression of Black Thought and Run the Jewels’ El-P and Killer Mike obviously (and excitingly) meshes well in such a space, but Rocky’s designer raps and distinctive flow also bring the cipher a satisfying texture variety. Energy-commanding beats with carefully carved feature slots seem to be a safe set of expectations for the album. Previous singles including features from Joey Bada$$, Russ, Dylan Cartlidge and Michael Kiwanuka are comprised of similar key components.
The features already established through the Danger-Thought singles “Because” and “Aquamarine” will join still-to-drop feature contributions from the late MF DOOM, Raekwon and Conway the Machine on Cheat Codes. Check out the tracklist below:
1 “Sometimes”2 “Cheat Codes”
3 “The Darkest Part” ft. Raekwon and Kid Sister
4 “No Gold Teeth”
5 “Because” ft. Joey Bada$$, Russ and Dylan Cartlidge
6 “Belize” ft. MF Doom
7 “Aquamarine” ft. Michael Kiwanuka
8 “Identical Deaths”
9 “Strangers” ft. A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels
10 “Close to Famous”
11 “Saltwater” ft. Conway the Machine
12 “Voilas & Lupitas”
