New York hip-hop might be going jungle
Chuck Strangers, a member of Joey Bada$$’ Pro Era collective, has revealed that he’s contributed jungle-influenced production to Bada$$’ forthcoming album B4.DA.$$, which is released 20 January.
Speaking to Hip-Hop DX, Strangers explained that the new direction can be heard on the track Escape 120”, which features Raury. He also explained that he was influenced by Lee Bannon, the experimental junglist who was formerly Bada$$’ tour DJ and has produced for rap-orientated beats for him before, including the B4.DA.$$ track Greenbax. Here’s what he said:
“The stuff on Joey’s album definitely doesn’t sound like shit we been doing,” he explained. “It sounds different for sure. It’s real jungly, it’s jungle music. It’s real jungle. It’s still rap though and it’s dark. It’s faster, it’s double time. To me, I wanted to do—it came from just wanting to do party music. I feel like the music I produced before wasn’t really like party. You couldn’t really party to it. Or you could, but not like dance and shit. So I always wanted to go to a party and hear my own music and shit. Just being honest with myself, my shit’s not for the fucking party. So I was like, ‘Man, we gotta make some shit for the party.’ But I was like, ‘How the fuck do I even do that?’ But then I was going to all these places and you hear all these dance beats. I was like, ‘Okay, word. This is some different shit.’ And also I used to live with this cat Lee Bannon and shit, and he’s heavy into that kind of stuff.”
In other Joey Bada$$-related news, he’s pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm following an altercation at an Australian festival, which reportedly left a security guard with a broken nose and other facial injures. A representative offered this statement to Pitchfork:
“There was a misunderstanding with security at the Byron Falls Festival show, which resulted in charges being laid by NSW Police. After fully cooperating with Police, Joey was granted bail and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.”