I don’t know if it’s happenstance or part of some master plan, but these days WAKE appear content to release music in sudden bursts rather than the sustained campaigns the once prolific hip-hip collective used to unleash. And you know what? That’s fine by me so long as they continue to put ample thought and care into each mind-bending track. Their previous two efforts, “Pour” and “Dead Flowers,” were both compelling cuts that added to the group’s legacy of melding fiery, politically outspoken lyrics to exploratory production. New single “Holy Stone Mountain,” however, the group’s first release in nearly a year, sees them maintaining a similar model, while finding space to stretch out and grow.
What begins in an ambient flutter of distant synths, crackling static, and quavering bird calls, soon morphs into the slow lumbering lurch of the track’s main groove. Amidst a ghostly din of spacey instrumentation and reverberating echoes, rappers Keith William and DYVER take turns outlining their personal journeys, addressing everything from institutional power structures (“trickle-down economics never made it to Rockbridge”) to childhood struggles and the strength of familial bonds. Although the reigning atmosphere is narcotic and woozy, WAKE’s lyrical potency cuts sharply through the murk, leaving behind yet another weighty track to add to their collection.
Listen below.
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