Right before Oakland’s Hieroglyphics camp releases their upcoming Rap Noir album, they’re treating us to the contents of their vault with tracks like First Light’s “Livin The Life” and “Fu2.” The two tracks are part of the crew’s “Hierotrope Series,” a collection of 7” 45 singles to be doled out monthly. The songs chosen from the series will alternate between singles from upcoming projects and previously unreleased work. “Livin The Life” and “Fu2” are tracks from the cutting floor of First Light’s Fallacy Fantasy album.
“Livin The Life” is an Unjust production that wedges chunky drums in between a waxy synth line and methodical keys, a canvas that lays the way for a two-way cipher on relationships, “getting caught in the wicked ways of the world,” and “just livin’ the life” as artists on the indie scene.
“FU2” is a jazzy number with Opio and Pep Love where the two rhyme pensive on snakish and out-of-touch people who need to “stick to the country club luncheon” instead of production.
Not only are the songs fresh, the visuals for Hierotrope Series tracks are a marriage of art and technology. Unjust collaborates with another in-house artist to design 2-sided phonotrophic artwork for the 7”s. The technique turns the image into an animation when viewed in direct light.
You can purchase the 7”s here. You can stream “Livin the Life” and “Fu2” below.
https://soundcloud.com/hieroglyphics-1/first-light-livin-the-life-main
https://soundcloud.com/hieroglyphics-1/fu2b-mix02
