First Look Friday: Young Fathers - "GET UP" x "Low"
Happy 5th day y'all. This week's First Look Friday features the nuanced dirt-pop of "GET UP" and "Low," the latest offerings from the UK's Young Fathers, a trio of intercontinental MCs & producers who are rippling up the water in the big pond and landing waves stateside. Hailing from Scotland, Liberia and Nigeria respectively, the group induces haunting pop textures with hooks that might be too solid for their own good. Their deceptively clean pop sensibilities juxtaposed with darker lyrical schemes and gritty & rough tonality gives us the best look at the belly of the big fish since the OG-emo of The Cure. The Fathers themselves describes their sound as "big shiny hooks to lead you in, but then we whisper something much worse in your ear."
"GET UP" disguises itself as a club-ready bleeder with its shuffling bounce, fuzzy synths and clap track; but what lays just beneath the surface is a tale of revolt, non-conformity and action, all bubbling to a nasty head like a Gus Van Sant flick. "Low" shows you exactly how strong those pop sensibilities are with its lush swirl of shining clav licks and a hook thats true to form. Its Saul Williams rocking through the Atlantic on the Yellow Submarine (don't miss the solarized eye-candy of the video which recently made Okayafrica's Videos Of The Year List). With all of those textures in the pot, it gets difficult to really put your thumb on these fellas, but that suits the lads just fine. When asked about their influences (if any) in stateside rap, they replied:
"Nobody sounds like us. We have too many ideas for it to be paint by numbers and we have no time to be nonchalant. Get up, get over. We take this very seriously. Lil B is a handsome boy. Mykki Blanco could be a pop superstar. Asap Ferg songs are good."
Needless to say, the swag is everlasting with this genre-defeating trio. Cop their debut Dead LP when it drops on February 4th and be sure to taste the various shades of pop and hip-hop these dudes serve up with their astral singles "GET UP" and "Low."
