Toronto rapper NorthSideBenji has released the music video for his new surprise single with the late Houdini, “Repeat.”
“Due to unforeseen circumstances we couldn’t get this out when we first made it back in ’19 but On Behalf Of The Houligan Estate we wanted to give yall something special .. Especially the Day Ones Who been rocking fr,” NorthSideBenji wrote in an Instagram post teasing the track last night. The two rappers were working on a collaborative project before Houdini’s untimely passing in 2020, when he was shot dead in Toronto’s Entertainment District.
“Repeat” captures the undeniable chemistry between the two artists. Over a springy, mesmeric trap beat, they trade melodic, unflappable bars taunting their haters and boasting about their sexual prowess. “.223’s bleed/ You wanna see fiends?/ She tryna freak me/ Feel like a repeat,” Benji sings on the hook.
The music video, directed by Orazio, intersperses shots of Houdini performing for a crowd and showing out in a parking lot near Toronto’s CN tower with scenes of Benji in a tropical locale, tending to who appears to be Hou’s infant son.
Benji had a close relationship with Houdini, often referring to him as his “twin.” He told Complex Canada that his 2021 project The Extravagant Collection was inspired by Houdini and the son he left behind. “Before he passed, I was already on a short hiatus, only doing features for some of my UK homies like Nines, Headie One, and AJ Tracey. But once he left us, I was kinda stuck between two sides of the fence. He left a son behind that he never got to hold and I wont let him fall a victim to the circumstances we came up in. All this shit for him,” he said.
The “Repeat” video ends with a candid clip of a young Hou and Benji lounging in a room workshopping a song, followed by the words “Houdini 2022” flashing on the screen. Perhaps a hint that more music may be on the way.
Watch the video for “Repeat” above.
