IDK is someone you can predict to be unpredictable. He can rap and sing and he’s always messing around with sonics. However, for this newest album roll out, the Maryland artist is taking a more contemporary approach. The production styles thus far have been very crisp and clean with the current sound palette being a mix of trap and boom-bap. “DENiM” got the ball rolling, and it had a nice appearance from Joey Bada$$. Then we got to hear IDK work with one of the biggest producers and ATL spitters of this generation on “TiFFANY”. The unofficial duo of Turbo and Gunna proved to pair nicely with the lead MC.
Now, for the third record, IDK is riding solo on “KiCKIN”. Again, though, he’s rapping over some more familiar trap soundscapes, with a nice change-up with chimes which is pleasant on the ears. As far as the lyrical content goes, IDK is giving you lots of brags and chants of “Can’t touch this, can’t touch this, can’t touch this“. Additionally, there’s some charismatic bars sprinkled in like, “They see what I’m whippin’, they pullin’ me over / They ask what I’m doin’, like Yachty and Ian, I’m thuggin’“. Sadly, we won’t be able to hear what BRAVADO iNTiMO has to offer until the end of the year. But check out “KiCKIN” with the link below.
You can get smoked, no dreadlock (Dreadlock) I had smoke in a headlock (Heaedlock) I have h*es in area codes, gotta hit plus before I get the text out She told me hit her on WhatsApp (WhatsApp) I looked at the girl like, “What’s that?” (“What’s that?”) And that was the day that a n**** found out that the federal boys can’t touch that
IDK is seemingly recruiting an all-star lineup for his next album, as he drops “TiFFANY” with trap superstar Gunna. We say that because the London, England rapper and singer grabbed Joey Bada$$ for “DENiM”, the lead single for BRAVADO INTiMO. On the previous track, IDK and Joey both brought it over a smooth boom-bap flavored beat. With that in mind, Gunna certainly had some pretty big shoes to fill following “DENiM”. The Atlanta lyricist does succeed, especially when it comes to sticking to the topical focus of “TiFFANY”. That being that living for the grind will put you ahead of so many other people in life.
“I’m the type that could never lose (Never lose) / I’m the type that be breakin’ rules / And I’m breakin’ backs, gotta bring it back“, IDK raps on the first few bars of his verse. Also making this track go is the trap beat cheffed up by Kenny Stuntin, EVRGRN, and Turbo, the latter being a frequent producer of Gunna’s. It helps this first-time link-up more seamless between two fairly different rappers. As for BRAVADO INTiMO, the details are pretty scarce. Outside of the title and the tandem of singles, the release date and cover art are unknown. It is expected to hit streaming sometime this year, though. It will eventually follow up on the massive F65, which also had a star-studded cast of Benny The Butcher, Snoop Dogg, NLE Choppa, Rich The Kid, and more.
These n****s makin’ up opps (Ayy) For the money, she makin’ it pop (Ayy) Taylor Swift, yeah, they makin’ it pop (Ayy) In the Spyder, I’m droppin’ the top (Ayy) Front row, Balenci’ look like Illuminati They tryna’ see if I’m evil or not (Ayy)
IDK and Joey Badass have teamed up for a braggadocious new collab we never knew we needed. Tonight (March 29), the East Coast heavy hitters have shared “Denim,” the smooth yet opulent new track.
On “Denim,” IDK and Joey celebrate their accomplishments, reaping the well-earned fruits of their labor. IDK sets the scene, inviting us into the home of his dreams.
“Sittin’ on cloud nine, but it’s really my couch / Pierre Jeanneret’s, the original ones / Not the one’s they get for five hundred to dress up their house / I’m single, boy, single boy / No girl or no spouse / Crib be quiet as a mouse,” IDK raps.
Joey matches IDK’s luxurious energy, ruminating on having earned the life he’s worked very hard for.
“Sittin’ on your whole year, but it’s really my couch / Pierre Paulin’s, this the original one / Cost fifty bands, all in, just to put in my house / The replica like fifteen, you can check the amount / If we ain’t talkin’ money, IDK, what we talkin’ about?,” Joey raps.
The song’s accompanying video sees the two rapping inside of a lovely, furnished home, juxtaposed with scenes of the two moving to the beat in an outdoor Paris setting.
It seems that in 2024, there will be plenty of rappers on the comeback trail. Add to their number IDK and Joey Badass, who are both looking to follow-up well-received projects in F65 and 2000, respectively. As they both appear to have new albums on the way, it only makes sense for them to team up, which they do on “Denim,” a new single coming out this Friday, March 29. To generate some buzz, they hit up the respected freestyle rap outlet From The Block to perform their song before the New York City skyline overlooking the Hudson River.
When last we heard from IDK, he was promoting songs from both the soundtrack to the Apple TV original series Swagger (“Win“) and his fourth studio album, F65. He had also recently collected accolades for his collaborative EP with Kaytranada, Simple, and performing at Coachella last spring.
Joey Badass, meanwhile, garnered attention for more personal dealings, including his burgeoning relationship with actress Serayah. Although he didn’t put out much new music in 2023, he did deliver a swan song for his Power character, Unique, who met an inevitable demise that nonetheless surprised Joey himself. This year, he’s released two tracks: “Fallout” with Lyrical Lemonade, Lil Yachty, and Gus Dapperton, and “Passports & Suitcases” with Kaycyy.
Watch IDK and Joey Badass perform “Denim” above and check out the track in full on Friday.
Lids HD has joined forces with rapper .idk to introduce an exclusive hat collection featuring three distinct designs. Launched on Tuesday, the collection is now available at LidsHD.com and Lids HD stores.
Each 59Fifty fitted hat in the collection tells a unique story, with a custom “Free Coast” side patch representing a world created to raise awareness for Cape Coast, Ghana, and Freetown, Sierra Leone. This patch combines flags and historic components, fostering a united movement. The hats feature classic green and gray under visors, enhancing the simplistic design with a vibrant lime green satin interior.
Lids will host a live jazz performance featuring .idk at the Lids Vegas Showcase location on Friday, Nov. 17 to mark the collaboration. Starting on Tuesday, customers purchasing a hat from the collection at the Lids Vegas Showcase location will receive a wristband, with a limited number available for qualification.
After dropping his album F65 last month, IDK is already back with new music. Tonight (June 16), he has shared “Win” from the season 2 soundtrack to Apple TV+‘s Swagger.
On the song, IDK embraces the wins in his life, and maintains a positive outlook as he moves forward.
“Life looking right, everything to win / I splash with the ice, everything to win / Just hit number one, I guess I’m single then / Everything a win, everything a win / My life is a win, my life is a win,” he raps on the song’s chorus.
The instrumental track consists of a breezy, percussive, jazz-influenced beat, creating an element of happiness as IDK leaves behind negativity.
In recent months, IDK has been keeping busy. He recently collaborated with Nike, launching a limited-edition Nike Air Max Pro 97 “Free Coast” F&F sneaker. He has also been preparing for his upcoming 65 Tour, which is set to kick off in Paris this month.
In the fall, IDK will bring back No Label Academy, his tuition-free music business program at Harvard University designed to help BIPOC students jumpstart their careers within the music industry.
All of these things certainly sound like wins.
You can listen to “Win” above.
Season 2 of Swagger begins streaming 6/23 on Apple TV+
IDK is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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IDK is one of the most creative rappers working today. But more importantly, he knows how to apply that creativity to his new album F65. The follow-up to 2022’s Simpleexpands the sonic palette but retains the incisive focus, pairing IDK’s unique outlooks with experimental production that pushes the boundaries of the familiar.
F65 feels like an evolution of IDK’s 2021 album USEE4YOURSELF, which now seems as though it was a dry run for the kind of eclecticism the Maryland rapper wanted to embrace then, but only recently mastered his impressive well of creativity enough to grasp. While he may never truly shake some of the most common criticisms against him (I mean, he can’t change his voice, but he can certainly use it better than his doppelganger Kanye), he certainly transcends them here.
The binding theme of F65, as you could probably guess from the cover, is Formula 1 racing. However, there’s also an unexpected thread throughout: IDK’s burgeoning appreciation for classic jazz. As he explains in the interlude “Champs-Élysées,” this stems from his grounding practice of “driving fast” playing jazz. The unusual pairing of energies is perfect for IDK, whose entire life and career have been shaped by the pairing of paradoxes.
Contrasting truths and the tension between them are the core of IDK’s personality. He’s a self-declared middle-class kid who embraced the streets in an effort to live up to social expectations of Black masculinity. While he details that experience on his debut album IWasVeryBad, he reiterates and distills those motivations here in the thundering “Paperchaser.”
He also attacks the question of the friction between the above-mentioned expectations of Black masculinity and the fear of femininity on “Pinot Noir,” ceding his spotlight to Saucy Santana and Jucee Froot. This is a duo I’d love to hear more of; Santana defies conventions by being a loudly-out gay man while embracing many of the dynamics of gangsta rap. Yes, he carries a purse, but he also carries a gun in that purse. Watch your tone.
While IDK is far from what you’d consider a “conscious” rapper, he shows his awareness of systemic and social problems in far subtler ways. The F1-themed interludes focus on commentary revolving around Lewis Hamilton, a champion driver who nonetheless feels the strain of being one of the only Black drivers on the circuit. He’s faced discrimination in spite – or perhaps because of – his success, while carrying the weight common to all pioneers in traditionally white spaces.
That isn’t to say that IDK doesn’t address the tribulations of Black life head-on when he needs to, though. “Mr. Police” is a prime example, borrowing the familiar refrain coined by NWA decades ago; in typical IDK fashion, however, he turns the song into a jazzy deflection of the more casual racism involved in his interactions with the law – the most common kind, the ones that don’t end in bloodshed, but cost Black folks in other ways.
If there’s a thesis here, it’s in IDK’s love of his Blackness. From dipping his toes into a dizzying variety of Black musical genres – Afrobeats, Jersey club, the aforementioned jazz – to sampling a cluster of classics from Black canon – Michael Jackson’s “Can’t Help It,” Carl Thomas’ “I Wish” – IDK gives a musical lesson in Black history. He talks up his love for Black women on “Still Your Man” and “Superwoman,” receiving advice on life and love from no less an authority than Snoop Dogg. By the final song, “Freetown,” a four-minute jazz instrumental, the message is clear: It’s all Black, and we shouldn’t be limiting ourselves to any one genre or interest. We are many things.
F65 is out now on Clue No Clue / Warner Records.
IDK is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
One of those tracks is “Pinot Noir” featuring Saucy Santana and Jucee Froot. The accompanying video arrived Tuesday, May 9, and it arrived with a pointed message from IDK.
“I don’t have to be a gay rapper to put an openly gay rapper on my song,” he tweeted. “I heard the beat, and I heard a very talented artist by the name of Saucy Santana on that beat. I love him forever for taking that risk with me. Now we have a banger for the summer [sun emoji].”
And also, I don’t have to be a gay rapper to put an openly gay rapper on my song… I heard the beat, and I heard a very talented artist by the name of Saucy Santana on that beat. I love him forever for taking that risk with me. Now we have a banger for the summer pic.twitter.com/vwpt55QJIJ
Santana reposted IDK’s tweet alongside a video message of his own.
“So I’m making this video to give a special shoutout to IDK. Me, IDK, and Jucee Froot have a song that just came out on his new album called ‘Pinot Noir.’ I just wanna show gratitude and recognize him for including me in his space — him being a straight, male rapper; me being an openly gay rapper,” Santana said to the camera.
“A lot of people be scared of the backlash or what people might think, but I just respect him for noticing me as talent,” he continued. “Talent is undeniable. He wasn’t worried about what I rap about, who I am, how he thought I would act, [or] what anyone would think. He just saw talent. He saw me for what I could bring to his record, and I just want to show him gratitude, appreciation, and I thank you for it.”
