“Arrows”
“Arrows”
The summer release of “Arrows,” a record by indie-rock project Fences featuring Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, caught listeners’ attentions by bridging together two genres that wouldn’t belong together at first thought: indie rock and rap.
The track, however, sparkles as a tune of coming into your own and facing life’s darkness. The two artists, who are friends outside the recording studio, play off each other in the best way possible. Macklemore’s introspective rap fits flawlessly into Fences’ magnetic chorus and verses.
While “Arrows” is one of the more recent songs to bend genres, it sits amid many tunes that have found the right balance between indie rock and rap.
Here are five lesser known collaborations that prove indie music and rap are matches made in music heaven:
My Song 5 [Remix] – HAIM (feat. A$AP Ferg)
https://soundcloud.com/haimtime/my-song-5-ft-asap-ferg
HAIM’s womping attitude-driven tune about a lover scorned can be summed up in one word — raw. The track is backed by heavy instrumentation and features vocals that sound nearly unprocessed, allowing “My Song 5” to stand confidently as a callback to garage bands of the late ’90s. Ferg’s addition takes the rawness to the next level. The rapper barges into the track, delivering a pounding response to HAIM’s calling out of a cheating partner. The end result is a boisterous street battle that will have any listener instantly spinning around to see what’s going on.
Truth – Chiddy Bang
https://soundcloud.com/chiddybang/truth-ft-passion-pit
Former pop-rap group Chiddy Bang injected Passion Pit’s “Better Things” with even higher energy than the original to build a track that is louder and marches unforgivably to its own beat. Chiddy’s verses laid over a sped-up instrumental of Passion Pit’s 2008 song bursts with a cool and confident funkiness. “Truth” is the perfect indie-electro-rap mashup for a car ride down the highway on a day teetering between the breeziness of spring and the warm sunny rays of summer.
Don’t (Rick Ross Remix) – Ed Sheeran
https://soundcloud.com/jesal-mistry-1/ed-sheeran-dont-remix-ft-rick-ross
“Don’t,” Sheeran’s follow up to the groovy “Sing,” follows his breakaway from the soft, guitar-driven love songs that filled his debut album. Sheeran’s latest is a steamy and bumping narration of his experience with a cheating girlfriend he refuses to take back. Ross joins in on the fun, offering an opening verse that loosens the track up and gets Sheeran cursing in the chorus, which he didn’t do in the original version of the single.
Maniac – Kid Cudi (feat. Cage and St. Vincent)
https://soundcloud.com/musicblogger/maniac-kid-cudi
Both Cudi and indie pop-rock project St. Vincent can be described as music blenders. Their songs typically burst with features of different genres, from rock to rap to pop. It is that simple fact that fills “Maniac” — which samples St. Vincent’s “The Strangers” — with ease. Cudi breezes over the guitars and drums to create an original track that is easy and full of fresh air.
No Rest for the Wicked – Lykke Li (feat. A$AP Rocky)
https://soundcloud.com/lykkeli/no-rest-for-the-wicked-asap-rocky
A collaboration by a Swedish indie-pop singer known for her melancholic songs and an American rapper known for his in-your-face vulgarity is certainly not one listeners could typically expect. While Rocky may first sound a little misplaced as he opens up the remix with a spoken-word introduction, the rapper’s aggressive main verse matches Li’s booming chorus perfectly. The overall product shines as a classic Lykke Li moody heartbreak anthem elevated by a thundery grittiness.
