After being incarcerated nearly two years ago, Toronto rapper Road Runner is finally a free man. And he’s just dropped a new single to celebrate, aptly titled “First Day Out.”
Though the track is meant to mark Road Runner’s release from house arrest, it’s not the turn-up anthem you might expect. Rather, over a gently simmering beat laced with a sped-up soul sample, the Pakistani-Canadian rapper gets introspective. “And I got issues/And it ain’t nothing I won’t give just to be with you/My days been slowin’ lately, my bro, yeah I miss you,” he sings on the hook, referencing his late friend Nuski, who was shot dead two years ago in an altercation with the police. Evidently, all that time spent inside gave Runner a lot of time to think.
The accompanying music video, directed by Tango, sees Runner perform the track amid a fleet of supercars on a sunny day, interspersed with shots of him cutting vocals in the studio. His drip is on point: some white Air Forces, a Bass Pro Shops trucker hat, and two chains embossed with the words “Long Live Nuski.”
“Going out for the first time in so long really felt amazing,” the rapper tells Complex Canada. “It made me realize how much we take our freedom for granted and I couldn’t wait to get myself to a real studio. I plan to keep pushing my music and take full advantage of my music and focus on nothing else but my music when I’m out and about. My supporters should be expecting a lot more music from me soon.”
“First Day Out” is the first track from Road Runner’s highly anticipated debut album, Trapistan. A release date for the LP hasn’t been set as of yet.
“This new one is very upbeat,” Road Runner told us of Trapistan when we interviewed him earlier this year. “I think my favorite songs are on this one. Some of the music I’ve made in the past couple months is the greatest music I’ve ever made. Being in the house has given me more time to write. When I’m outside, I’m lazy. But now I’m always writing.”
Peep the video for “First Day Out” above.
