ivvys: “bikini”
Ballistic percussion that feels ripped from a military drumline. Apocalyptically blown-out 808s in the style of perc40 and tdf. Looped melodies that fade in and out like the radio on a drive through the Holland Tunnel. This is the imaginative sound of #stepTeam, a loosely defined clique of producers and rappers who feel like they’re on the verge of making something really cool. So far the must-hear stuff includes Atlanta rapper xhulooo’s sstepSKI (which has a bonkers flip of an all-time great Uzi song), a few nutty singles by Jersey’s Maajins, and whatever is uploaded to ivvys’ SoundCloud page. The newest ivvys song, “bikini,” is hard as hell: His scratchy-voiced raps are mostly buried under a turbulent beat (self-produced with help from Yeat-whisperer Synthetic and dreamr) that hits with the intensity of one of those storms out at sea in Master and Commander. The video game clips flickering in the background take this bugged-out track into the deepest, most experimentally abrasive corners of Jersey club.
With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace, it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from ivvys more on our Spotify playlist.
