Hip-hop’s best angle has always come from collaborative chemistry, and as much as I respect the spirit of an independent release, there’s something even more to be said about what groups like AztroGrizz are doing for alternative rap right now. Where some would be content to follow the parameters of present-day trends, AztroGrizz is experimenting with the limits of melody and fusing together influences from well outside the standard tree of contemporaries, which is largely brought to a fascinating peak in their new single “The Colorado Song.” A tribute to what has become a really intriguing scene in recent years, this track feels like the statement piece this duo needed to make noise on the national stage.
This beat has got to be one of the least invasive of any I’ve listened to in a new rap single this season, but this isn’t to say that the percussive presence in the backdrop lacks physicality in any sense. Contrarily, what’s most impressive about “The Colorado Song” and the dynamic within its AztroGrizz that it highlights is how it utilizes its potencies; instead of stacking everything around one element, this is a pair that knows how to spread the weight in a master mix, which is a lot more difficult to do in reality than a lot of their rivals will acknowledge.
The concept behind this track is certainly soulful, and I want to hear more material like it in the near future. Even without the simplicity of the music video, there’s a streamlined sensibility to “The Colorado Song” that brings to mind some of the smartest soul groups of the original era, but with a decidedly urban twist that wasn’t quite as prominent in old school content. To me, AztroGrizz is a hybrid, but they’re not making aesthetics the center of our attention here.
They’ve made a habit of pushing everything as far as they can in the short time they’ve been stars on the indie level, and I have a feeling this is something we can count on AztroGrizz continuing as they keep climbing through the ranks of the American underground. This was an amazing summer for alternative hip-hop, and if there’s anything we can predict about the genre’s immediate future after listening to a piece like this one, it’s that AztroGrizz and their indie peers are making a play for greatness many in the mainstream cannot understand at this point in the game.
