There’s a lot to be said of a motley crew of musicians joining forces with such effortless – and marginally unexpected – cohesion. Hunter Kennedy gets real on lost love and its crippling emotional consequences alongside Kulture Gang, Phifty Cal, E-JayCPT, and Hef The Chef in their new release “Bottles & Pills” – and it’s the sort of retro hip hop fusion of South African that keeps you guessing.
On the surface “Bottles & Pills” is an extended commentary on untruthfulness in relationships – but it also goes a little deeper come the chorus, as Kennedy waxes realistic on addiction (to both substances and people) and the pain it affects in so many.
Trading the mic with snappy hip hop finesse, E-JayCPT kicks off the first verse, Phifty Cal takes the second, while Kulture Gang wraps things up – punctuated in turn by Kennedy’s soothing Afrikaans choruses. All this backed up by Hef The Chef’s sleek production – all ’80s-esque synth and snappy rhythm.
The accompanying video, shot by The Full Frame Fox, is a saturated, colour-soaked montage of the four artists, dropping verses in various corners of Belleville. Kitted out in Rich Boy Clothing threads, they capture the sort of infectious and quintessential bravado of hip hop culture, combined with a unique motley perspective of the local scene at large.
Feature pic supplied by artist
