The XO crew has been putting in work all year, and Belly is the latest to take center stage with Mumble Rap. The 11-song project features one lone guest (Pusha T), which allows the Palestinian-Canadian rapper ample space to go in over production from Boi-1da, DannyBoyStyles, and Ben Billions, among others.
To get a sense of what Belly's all about on Mumble Rap, look no further than the title track, which receives the visual treatment from director Karena Evans. In it Belly and his unofficial task force roam the streets to rid the city of the fakes. The video also includes cameos from fellow XO members Nav and Derek Wise.
"This video was inspired by the Timbaland/Missy Elliott era of videos," Belly tells Complex. "I wanted to give people a visual that was reminiscent of that.”
Belly has also shared a behind-the-scenes clip to give fans a better idea of how this video came together.
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Belly talked about how Mumble Rap came to be and Boi-1da's involvement. "It started with me and Boi-1da. We’ve always wanted to worked together," Belly explained. "We’ve always been big fans of each other. We’ve done one-off songs in the past. We wanted to do a full project, something special. He produced like 75 percent of it."
As far as choosing the project title, Belly said it was about reclaiming what the phrase meant in rap. "I wanted to snatch the word back. I want when people say mumble rap now, they’re going to think of this, one of the greatest rap projects ever put out. That’s what I want people to think."
Stream Belly's Mumble Rap below or grab it on iTunes.
