Brooklyn rapper MEDHANE and producer slauson malone manage to capture much of the raw energy that characterized New York’s underground scene just after the turn of the century—gritty, emotional, occasionally obtuse, and unflinchingly personal.
“I was heavily influenced by the changes I was experiencing in my life when I turned 18, started meeting new people, gathering different perspectives, and forming opinions as an ‘adult’ on my own,” says MEDHANE of the Greys In Yellow, his collaborative album with malone. “My relationships with family and friends also played a pivotal role in the creation of this project; I intended to capture the feeling of distance that I felt from those who I am supposed to be closest to while undergoing extreme personal growth and learning about the world. Though my school experience was intrinsic to the conception of the album, I want to make clear that this is not an album about college, but instead about the feelings and ideas that come with the transition from adolescence into adulthood.”
The end result is a project that vibrantly recalls a vision of New York hip-hop in a way that feels visceral and current—it’s not boundary defying, but it visits the past with tasteful experimentation and passion. MEDHANE’s concerted, bold rapping matches the organic intensity of malone’s production, a symbiotic match that gives Greys In Yellow a unified feel.
1.
Image via MEDHANE & slauson malone
Stream a neatly representative preview of Greys In Yellow below. To hear the entire album, download it here.
(NOTE: MEDHANE and malone decided to post a preview of Greys In Yellow on Soundcloud instead of the full album in efforts to promote downloads.)
