Last summer, TNGHT–the unholy, bass-heavy union of Hudson Mohawke and Lunice–unleashed an all out assault on unsuspecting ears, subwoofers, city streets, and packed clubs. On their self-titled debut EP, the pair essentially cast existing EDM convention (and, in the process, a need for catchy melody) to the wind, focusing on crafting blunt-force, sound-effect packed sensory overload. To listen to TNGHT’s introductory five song set at top volume in the right system is to experience sonic D-Day.
While I love a great melody as much as any man forced to sift through a sea of often mediocre or downright terrible music, there’s something about neck-snapping, system-destroying beats that has always hit my hardest and stuck with me long after I’ve taken off my headphones. The only component of TNGHT’s equation that was missing for me? Rapping. I love instrumental music, but often I feel I can only love it to a certain point. I can internalize the feeling of a beat, but I can’t memorize an 808 or a snare in the same way I can a series of lines, no matter how clever or rudimentary. It might seem a simple point, but there’s a reason instrumental music so rarely rises to prominence. Even the extraordinary artists in the field seek out vocal collaborators eventually.
In my Soundcloud travels, I look for and listen to a ton of beats. As with anything, some I love, some I hate, and some I don’t even listen to long enough to hate; rarely do I find those beats that make the hairs on my neck–which is nodding furiously–stand up as I ask “what the fuck is this?”
Well, yesterday I stumbled upon Yung Gutted’s “Hood.” I’ll let the beat speak for itself and, hopefully, blow your speakers out in the process. All you need to know is the succinct description from Yung Gutted’s Twitter profile: “BEATS FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL (NOT 4 THE FRAIL)”
I say all of that to say this: If a beat is this nasty, someone should be rapping on it. So aspiring rappers (and Yung Gutted, if you’re out there), please make my dreams come true. And don’t make it wack. Pretty please.
As a bonus, here’s what it sounds like when someone does rap on one of Yung Gutted’s destructive beats.
