Multi-faceted NY-based rapper/songwriter Vyle brings something refreshing and thought-provoking to the forefront with his brand of social-politically charged and entertaining style of music. His latest release titled “GEARSHIFT (Model X)/Front Row Stockist” is a hard-hitting alternative hip-hop record with conscious and social themes that dwell on the commodification of black skin and talent and the subtle programming the system puts us through. The production by Brodinski is dynamic, brooding and cinematic which is perfect for Vyle’s rich lyrical tapestry with lines like “like sea anemone,she read his message/and continued on with her sentencing/she said I like to make him think that I’m listening/she only kept him archival/for the kindling (e-booked) thought you was doc brown/the way you turn trash into energy“. is use of subtle abstract themes and social constructs adds an extra layer to the messaging as well.
Created in NYC’s New Museum of Contemporary Art, Gearshift (Model X)/Front Row Stockist was recorded and refined over multiple sessions in NYC, Chicago and Paris with Haleek Maul (Holdersland, Saul Williams, Lex Records) and Teki Latex (Because Music, TTC, Institubes), with the latter appearing on Front Row Stockist, a critique on the correlation between models (usually made up of women) holding court and going to war on the catwalk, and how the inherent voyeuristic nature of buyers has a connection with the sale of Black American slaves, as both settings see humans place on pedestals, as objects for purchase.
The accompanying music video was shot on location in Rome, Italy and directed by Olivia Paonita (NEW INC, The New Museum). It is a blend of live-action, performance scenes and AI-generated visuals.
Stream “GEARSHIFT (Model X)/Front Row Stockist” here.
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