Detroit producer Apollo Brown was looking for new inspiration after last year’s The Easy Truth collaboration with Skyzoo. He set forth on crafting the soundscape for a new project as if it were a motion picture, and even sequenced it before turning the beats into full songs. It didn’t matter. He knew exactly what kind of project he wanted, and figured that only 3-4 rappers could help him deliver it – including Planet Asia. Luckily, the West Coast veteran obliged him, and the duo went forward.
The project is now known as Anchovies, and is set to be released August 28th on Mello Music Group. Today, the duo dropped the lead single, “Dalai Lama Slang,” featuring Willie The Kid. Who knows what context the song serves in the context of the album, but the song astounds in it’s own right. Planet Asia dispenses rapid-fire, nonsequitur rhymes over a bloated organ sample famously flipped by Dilla on Donuts, and Willie The Kid follows up with an assonant verse cleverly linking the putrid Flint water with putrid Putin. Willie is just one of two features on the album, and he makes the most of his appearance.
You can download “Dalai Lama Slang” here, and pre-order Anchovies at iTunes.
