I’ve been all up in my Friendzone lately, with the Bay Area “internet rap” production duo serving up a pair of heavy slaps for left-field hip-hop performers Mykki Blanco and Yung Lean to rap over.
Although Friendzone (James Laurence and Dylan Reznick) has been up on the local beatmaker scene since 2011, the duo has definitely turned it up for 2013 by producing beats for the likes of A$AP Rocky (“Fashion Killa”), Main Attrakionz, Antwon, and Nature Boys. Fun fact: Laurence and Reznickhas played together in a band called Destroy Tokyo, which eventually evolved into Religious Girls.
“Who Wanna Rumble” is Friendzone’s contribution to this summer’s Adult Swim Singles Series, featuring vocals from New York’s favorite gender-blurring rapper Mykki Blanco (who recently got “Wavvy” at Mezzanine). The dirty version of the track is now available for the freaks worldwide to stream or download below.
Friendzone also recently produced a track called “Solarflare” for Yung Lean, who quickly rose to Internet notoriety after Frances Capell dubbed him the “Weirdest 16-year-old Swedish Rapper You’ll Here This Week” in a feature for Noisey. The track closes out Yung Lean’s new album Unknown Death 2002, which is available for free download on Bandcamp via Mishka. The cassette is sold out.
Yung Lean’s rap treads the tightrope between meditative sad boy swag and playful misogyny with lines about expanding molecules and “snorting coke with Darth Vader.” Propulsive and ethereal, the remastered instrumental track plays as a standalone summertime slapper that’s perfect for just about anything other than sleeping. Compare the two versions below.
Friendzone’s Kuchibiru Network 3 mixtape also flew under the radar earlier this year. Here it is in case you missed it.