Available on: Pill – 4075: The Refill

I can’t figure out what dark hole this track came from, but I can tell you where these two rappers come from. Pill is a verbal demon from the bowels of Atlanta’s war zone of the West side, Pink City, while Gibbs is a smoky Freddie Kruger from the forgotten city of Gary. So what do you get when these two – both coming from urban locations that America tries its hardest to forget about – combine? Anger, explicit imagery and the hard facts of hard life presented in the ultra-vivid hyperrealist style that these two are fast becoming known for.

The flow from both here is impeccable: Pill almost adding an extra layer of percussion to the track with his quick, syllabi-like darts, contrasted by Freddie’s leaned back Cadillac rhythms that play out like a tribute to old school gangster elegance. As for the actual beat, produced by Ced L Young, it’s a slowed-down cruiser with ample space for the MC’s distinctive flows, a delicate electric piano melody offsetting the black-eye raps in a sickly way, 808 cymbals cutting through the riffs. The beat references early rap, tropical style, dubstep and horror film soundtracks – there’s no doubt Stephen King would dig this if he wasn’t old and possibly racist.

If you’re not up on these two, then get to it. This track is from Pill’s new mixtape, 4075: The Refill, and Gibbs’ Labels are Trying to Kill Me is equally worth your time.

Chris Powers