Heads in the clouds.

Texas-based cloud rap (need a definition of that term? head here) pioneer Beautiful Lou is possibly best known for his work with Bay Area weirdo Lil B, or Bruiser Brigade’s single female member Kitty (nee Pryde) but his less high-profile work is often even more rewarding. His long standing collaboration with rapper Western Tink birthed Mobbin’ No Sobbin’, a record that made it into FACT’s list of the ten most slept-on mixtapes of the year and now it looks like he’s back in the driver’s seat with this brand new solo cut.

Culled from his forthcoming full-length We Used 2 Believe In Things, ‘Truth of the Matter’ capitalizes on Lou’s Texas roots with its bold syrupy flavor and reps California hard (‘Pac, is that you?) with a set of low-slung rhymes courtesy of fellow clouded types Shady Blaze and 100s. As usual however, Lou’s unorthodox use of samples takes this over the edge, as he blends twinkling 80s pop flourishes with a Three Six Mafia-indebted bass slap.

Beautiful Lou was profiled in FACT’s Hip Hop in 2013… For Dummies (The Producers), you can read it here. [via Steady Bloggin’]