The
Song:
Kyle Rapps is back, this time with the second single from his forthcoming mixtape On Air. For the Harlem-based rapper's latest project, Kyle enlisted producer and long-time collaborator Nate G, who flips samples from legendary French electronic band Air, while Kyle also called on a few friends for guest appearances, including Talib Kweli, for the previously released single "Universe Traveler," along with C-Rayz Walz and recent collaborators KRS-One and Homeboy Sandman.
For this new single, however, Kyle goes for dolo with "Streets Move On," a track that carries the soul of the streets, while not shying away from its harsh realities in a way that allows it to transcend what has become so typical of rappers discussing street life. "I was daydreaming and got stoned off my imagination," explains Kyle. "I imagined a painting showing various cliches, each dealing with the harsh realities of city life. Then I thought to myself, Wouldn't it be dope if you could put this painting in reverse?" Nate G's production on the track - a straight ahead drum beat, serving as a bed for industrial and synth loops from Air's song "Mike Mills" - allows Kyle's vivid imagery to play the forefront as he raps, "A jungle's a jungle by any other name/ We pray, and stumble and struggle another day," and pulls everything together with a chorus, more catchy than most given the deep subject matter, built around the repeating line, "the streets move on with out you, money."
Download "Streets Move On" here: http://media.audibletreats.com/Kyle_Rapps-Streets_Move_On.mp3
The Background:
By age 20, Princeton, New Jersey native Kyle Rapps started winning poetry slams in NYC with a concept-strong, socially sharp raw hip-hop delivery. Once he graduated from Rutgers University, he had already opened for big name acts like Wyclef Jean, Fat Joe, Talib Kweli and Dead Prez with his group, Thought Breakers. And once he decided to change his name to Kyle Rapps, he was getting ready to release the single "Love, Love" with KRS-One and Homeboy Sandman, which eventually went on to reach #1 on the college radio charts for hip-hop. Now, fresh off his critically acclaimed EP, RE-Edutainment, which features Joell Ortiz and KRS-One, and production from Kev Brown, Kyle has put together a new concept project called On Air, which samples from one of his favorite artists, the French-electro DJ duo, Air. The album features Talib Kweli and C-Rayz Walz, along with previous artists like KRS-One and Homeboy Sandman, and will be released this summer.
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