New York, NY – Eight years removed from their last collaboration, Non Phixion MC Sabac Red and producer/rapper J57 connect for the new single “Block Cheese and Bocce.”
Sabac Red tells RealStreetRadio that the song was long overdue.
“J57 and I have been collaborating periodically since the early 2000s,” Sabac notes. “It’s been a few years since our last collaboration, ‘Tell Lie Vision‘ was released, and I thought it was time once again.”
As he explains, the song is (in a way) a birthday gift to the two of them.
“I respect and appreciate how J57 has evolved and progressed over the years,” he says. “His birthday is on Thursday (February 6), and mine is on Friday (February 7), so I figured it would be pretty cool to collaborate on a track and drop it during our birthdays.”
The song’s title is a reference to Sabac’s upbringing on public assistance in Gravesend, Brooklyn — a predominantly Italian neighborhood in New York City.
“I remember getting the block cheese and making sandwiches, then heading over to the park and watching the old Italian guys play bocce ball,” he recalls.
Sabac’s nine-year-old son, Lucas, aka DJ Lufu, joins him on the song’s chorus. “[Lucas] is extremely passionate about DJing and music, so I had him jump on the chorus with me since he kept singing it around the house while I was listening to the mixes.”
J57 tells RealStreetRadio that the song is extra special for him, as Sabac was one of the first rappers to give him a shot in his early days.
“I started listening to Non Phixion/Sabac Red in 1998 when the ‘I Shot Reagan’ 12″ came out,” He notes. “Sabac was the first artist of note that I’ve ever worked with that believed in me, back in 2004 … He’s been a big brother figure since, so it’s beyond dope to come full circle.”
According to the two, a Sergio Rodriguez-directed video is dropping soon. Sabac Red and J57’s “Block Cheese and Bocce” is available now FiveSe7en Collective/Soulspazm.