There’s a certain type of hip-hop listener who sees a lineup of IDK, Jay Electronica, Westside Gunn, and MF DOOM and immediately clicks play. For those listeners, we’ve opted to highlight “Red,” an absolutely stacked posse cut from IDK’s new album USEE4YOURSELF, available for your listening pleasure right here.
Over a strange and off-kilter instrumental, Westside Gunn sets it off with an unrelenting verse; few can so successfully weave the worlds of brutal violence and haute couture. IDK tags in next, opting for a melodic flow vaguely reminiscent of one of Kanye West’s old favorites. A futuristic blast of overdriven 808s enters the mix, setting the stage for two lyrical heavyweights to close “Red” out.
The late MF DOOM is next up, and while he only contributes a few lines, his gravelly cadence is certainly welcome. His post-chorus transitions into Jay Elec’s final verse, and the Written Testimony emcee opts to tackle a few controversial topics over an orchestral string loop. “You stick with Dr. Fauci, I’m runnin’ with Dr. Wesley,” he raps. “I’ve never let the CDC come and finesse me / I never let the fake news from the press distress me / Even though the Devil would love to Malcolm X me.”
Check out “Red” now, and sound off if you think this one lived up to the hype of its lineup.
QUOTABLE LYRICS
Bitch you ain’t never been naked on the seashore
Put money on your head, spend the rest up in Dior
Paris, me and Don C sittin’ front row
Elephant drum on the forty, she ain’t Dumbo
Hole in your forehead, I’m talking jumbo