If you couldn’t tell from the embed thumbnail, the following video contains some intense imagery.

Hardcore outfit Thirdface released their full-length record Do It With a Smile back in March of 2021. It’s twelve heavy and foreboding tracks delivered with intensely delivered vocals that explode with a cathartic ferocity. The band recently released the official video for “Villains!” and that catharsis manifests itself as a horror film serving as a gruesome message of empowerment for the working class.

The video depicts a group of rural working class individuals clearing up brush and chopping down trees, being beaten by their onlooking supervisors for pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion. One worker is visited by a visage of death and bestowed a weapon to enact revenge – a sequence that feels influenced by the likes of folk horror, Quentin Tarantino and the best cult films. Equipped with the protective power of the sword, the worker bestows a series of brutal deaths to those that wronged their crew, complete with excessive grindhouse blood splattering.

It’s a pretty safe bet that no one involved in the band or the video thinks that literal murder is the answer to the problems of the working class but it’s not much of a stretch to interpret the video as a reminder that the proletariat have it in their power to take on those in charge. It’s also entirely possible that there’s nothing to read in to here and it’s a straightforward horror story of revenge with a badass sword and a mystical creature from another realm. Either way, it’s worth a watch or two.

Do It With a Smile is streaming everywhere. They’re playing at DRKMTTR on September 5th. Go see them and ask them what the video really means.

Quez Cantrell released “The Black Today” back in mid-2020 and garnered a good deal of critical acclaim for the frankness and vulnerability of the track regarding the Black Experience. If you’ve not seen the video for it, do give it a spin. The song was part of a larger release entitled 9 that contained a number of additional tracks containing the same powerful honesty.

One such track from the record is “Creepin’ At My Window,” a darker tale that “dives into the psyche of Today’s African American living in America.” The official video paired with the song is a full-on short film portraying Cantrell surrounded by tragic news that drives him to be eventually trapped inside his own safe room, plastered with headlines and reminders of the difficulty of being Black.

Even without the video, the song packs a lyrical punch but Cantrell leverages the visual medium to push the message even further. A viewer could watch this and see a protagonist fueled by paranoia but, with a little thought, it’s clear that the hesitation towards the outside world is earned. This isn’t a manifestation of fear as much as it is grappling with the constant barrage of high incarceration rates, police brutalities and general mistreatment simply for being a person in the world. The horror conceit serves a reminder of how unjust things currently are, a scary position to be in if ever there was one.

Cantrell has followed up 9 with multiple additional singles – “Lift My Spirits” and “Vent” among them – that continue to showcase not only his skills as an emcee but as a lyricist unafraid of sharing his experiences; both on an individual level and as a person of color. We’re optimistic there’s more to come and, in the meantime, we suggest giving him a follow on Instagram and YouTube, so you don’t miss out.

There has been an influx of highly prolific hip-hop recently. Petty has been releasing a new single every single week, Gee Slab has been cranking out tracks, podcasts and videos, Negro Justice had a run on EPs and videos and now Da Real A1yo is stepping up. In 2021 alone he’s released Thugs Need Love 2, A Week in Miami, Vendetta and a collab single with B. Stokes called “Star.” On top of all that, he’s also been releasing videos for tracks from these selections to remind of the vast body of work that exists.

“Take It Der” is the latest video from the A1yo camp, taken from the Vendetta full-length. The video is filled with performance footage, drone shots and numerous effects that feel like a slowly induced drug trip. Many of the shots feel inspired by the likes of Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream or The Prodigy’s infamous “Smack My Bitch Up” music video. That’s not to say it’s a direct homage but it’s got the same vibe. All told, the video is a high paced endeavor that keeps you locked in for the perfect single duration of 2 and a half minutes.

Da Real A1yo is putting in a massive amount of work to achieve this level of output and it does not go unnoticed. The beats throughout the releases are getting more compelling and his flow is impressively confident and compelling on every track. If you aren’t already, give him a follow over on Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.