Fresh off of a busy 2018, AJ Suede has seemingly been on a wave of hard work with no intention of crashing. Throughout last year, Suede dropped a total of six projects including the first two installments of the Darth Sueder trilogy that ultimately culminated into its third installment earlier this month. The Seattle based rapper is poised to have another productive year incoming as he’s been teasing towards a collaborative EP with BB Sun entitled Black Cube Vol. I.
So far, the pair have dropped two new music videos for the tracks “Herbs” and “Katz” respectively. The videos are both characterized by their lo-fi, VHS tape aesthetic with superimposed frames. BB Sun’s production matches the vintage look with sample-driven production that would sound perfectly at home in AJ Suedes’ native Harlem.
On each song, the two rappers flex their lyrical prowess as they deliver top tier wordplay along with head bop inducing rhyme schemes back to back. On “Herbs” BB Sun really shines (no pun intended) as he delivers quotable line after quotable line over this smokey saxophone sample that sounds straight out of a late night jazz lounge.
I get on your head and turn that boy into a headline // I be on the redline bag full of fed time // Skated on my bitch I said I need a lil’ bro time // Met my dealer at the goal line I said its go time
The track is tied together conceptually with its references to weed in many facets from smoking it to buying it while the most obvious instance in its refrain of, “I heard you taking percocet instead of taking herbs.” However, “Katz” is topically more stream of consciousness with AJ Suede and BB Sun engaging in some pure lyrical exercise.
The production here is propelled forward by this chattering, hypnotic drum loop sampled from Courage the Cowardly Dog. AJ Suede draws first blood as he immediately begins his verse with some multi-syllabic rhymes and pop-culture references to The Matrix and MF Doom.
I’m like the Matrix Trilogy // No adlib but I’m mad with the villainy // Everything we do is still acclaimed, critically // Drinking hella coffee ’till I’m wired and jittery
If consistently well-written rhymes like these are any indication, then Black Cube Vol. 1 is shaping up to be a standout project in both artists’ respective discographies. AJ Suede and BB Sun exude chemistry when they’re on the same track as their styles compliment one another so well. There is no set release date but, given their work ethic, expect The Black Cube Vol. I to be released soon. Take a look at both videos down below.