xTRILLIAMS keeps his hip-hop old school and his lyrics real, exploring stories of Asian immigrants growing up in the ‘burbs’ of Sydney.
xTRILLIAMS is the project of roots-inspired rapper Mike and beatmaker Chonks. Following a run of live gigs in Sydney in 2019, the pair buckled down during lockdown, working on a series of songs revolving around the suburbs of Sydney.
They’ve just dropped single Face ft. sanè alongside a creative music video with non-stop hooks. Let’s take a look.
Face wastes no time getting to that backbeat old school goodness. xTRILLIAM goes straight into a breathless verse, backed by bass, flanger effects, and percussive drums. xTRILLIAM’s lyrics are relentless, switching from humour, “can I hit it in the morning? Roger Federa”, to 2000s Kanye references, “drive slow”, to straight-up cruise control, “go-gadget control”. He also effortlessly from English to Chinese in parts, reminding listeners of his journey and context in the Sydney rap game.
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Vocalist and feature artist sané comes in for the central hook, grounding xTRILLIAM’s lyrical explorations. “Don’t take it so personal, cuz they won’t recognise you”.
The music video depicts xTRILLIAM’s flexing around suburban streets, collaged with some anime and shots of sańe. “All the tracks you’ve made are fire and honestly looking forward to releasing/hearing all of them finally out for everyone to hear”, the artist comments, in reference to xTRILLIAM’s upcoming EP.
We can’t wait for future output from the rapper. His kindred spirit and knack for memorable flows make for thoroughly engaging tunes, Face included.
Check out the music video for Face below:
