Regardless of which way the zeitgeist blows, there are always artists who will be gravitating towards the darker end of the spectrum in terms of content, tone, and timbre; what makes the current musical climate intriguing is that the pendulum has decidedly swung into the shadows, and what has resulted is an across the board, unilateral slide into the black, with prominent names in any number of genres creating a vast array of inky sensibilities.
Charli XCX, The Good Natured, and Natalia Kills spearhead goth pop, a sort of hybrid, mixing post punk and electropop, combining the former’s dark heart with the latter’s gloss and approachability, while electronic dance music, still currently in vogue as Queen-Hell Flavor of the Moment, rides the frightening anger of Skrillex and the Top 40 writhes with the black mascara pop of Rihanna, the grime of Ke$ha, and the blood red lips of Taylor Swift, smiling sweetly after plunging perfect white teeth into a still-beating heart like an apple.
Hip-Hop and R & B has embraced the darkness from top to bottom, luxurious black velvet (Rick Ross, Kanye), melancholy (Drake, The Weeknd), and dead eyed murder (Chief Keef, Lil Durk, et. al.) the public face, while acts like Danny Brown, Flatbush Zombies, Alex Wiley, and How to Dress Well push dissociative eeriness or blunted, looping humor and aggression.
It is no surprise that A$AP Mob tapped the Zombies for “Bath Salt,” a piece whose fear comes more from what one imagines it could score than the beat itself, the noir-ish hooks curling like blue cigarette smoke around the larger, sauntering elements and slowly creeping drums. Much like the Zombies, Nitty Scott comes at “Bath Salt” pitched high, cutting through the production with ease.
Scott’s freestyle over “Monster” demonstrated a similar mastery of atmospheric beats, and, as in her “Monster,” one is left both impressed by the sharpness and penetrative aspects of her flow, and left wanting for its textbook efficiency, something which older Hip-Hop heads and purists would surely appreciate but which risks becoming boring, despite its lyricism, when compared to artists currently taking more experimental approaches and pushing the boundaries of what rapping even is, be it from a lyrical or even structural standpoint; the end result is that Nitty is satisfying and brilliant in an Edgar Allen Poe sort of way, yet also a touch cliched, in an Edgar Allan Poe sort of way.
All of which is not to say that Nitty herself is lacking, or that “Bath Salt” is; it is a fine piece of fearsome, traditional freestyling, and Scott is more than capable of handling her own on most tracks. Lithe and powerful, she would be an excellent foil for Brown or a nimbler twin to Sash Go Hard.
At the risk of objectifying, it is worth noting that the visuals for “Bath Salt” irrevocably provide something extra to the proceedings; watching the comely Scott smolder in gray scale, the most striking thing about her is not the almond eyes, big hoops, or black lips, but how comfortable she seems moving amidst the gloom, which is, if not a prerequisite for current success, than most certainly highly recommended.
Download: “Bath Salt Freestyle” here.
“Bath Salt Freestyle” receives a PARL
Rating:
P…Horrible
PA…Tolerable
PAR…Good
PARL…Kinda Great
PARLÉ… Classic
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