Photo via Mello Music Group
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Dash Lewis wants you to know it’s gonna be a hot sauce summer.
“Iron Steel Samurai,” a welcome collaboration between Quelle Chris and The Alchemist, opens Mello Music Group’s latest compilation, Bushido. The Alchemist has been on a pretty monumental run as of late, and this track adds another W to the pile. Featuring 60’s fuzzbox guitars and a bassline that feels ripped from a Dead Meadow song, Al provides a hazy backdrop for Quelle to, as always, find a pocket entirely his own.
It’s a fun, low-stakes track that accentuates the best characteristics of each. Al’s genius lies in taking disorienting sounds and making them groove. Quelle combines his stoner philosophizing with unorthodox flows to create a truly unique perspective. Here, he gently roasts everyone from lesser rappers to the listeners themselves like Donterio Hundon after the edible hits. He fires off references ranging from Harambe to Ghost Dad at a dizzying clip as if he decided making himself laugh was the best way to make a hot track.
It’s over just as soon as it starts, but well worth repeated listens. Once you detect the hidden drum loop buried under the distortion and organ chords, take note of all the references Quelle packs into his boasts, discover the placeholder hook of “something, something” left in, you’ll want to go back again and again to make sure you have it straight.