A white limo pulls up as a moody and sharp snare and bass instrumental crafted by Mike Hector plays out as the soundtrack for Van Buren Records members SAINT LYOR, Luke Bar$, Lord Fenix and Jiles to start landing a barrage of emotive bars in and out of the stretch. That is the visual setting for the laid back, Simon Morrison directed posse cut that is “Brain Dead,” which audibly harkens back to the golden days of the blog era where it was the norm to witness supergroups the likes of TDE’s Black Hippy, Pro Era, A$AP Mob, Raider Klan and 2008ighties breeze through verse of the year contenders in succession before a hit level hook took a backseat to the overt lyrical dexterity. An emphasis on making a strong individual first impression, while also tying a sonic thread together to become a sum of pieces greater than the whole, is a lost art in rap that the Van Buren crew may have just saved and resurrected at the same time. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to hear way more from the tonally diverse collective. The sooner the fucking better.
