Atlanta hip-hop label and ironically named Awful Records have once again proven to be both ahead of the local sonic curve and fully capable of fostering fresh young talent with their most recent single, “Complicated.” This new Hanzo cut features label mate SEANTHOMMONEY and adds yet another vibrant trap groove to the Atlanta music landscape. The off-the-wall visuals for the track show the pair of artists swimming underwater while uniquely edited in and out of different colorful scenes.
On “Complicated,” Hanzo and SEANTHOMMONEY give crooning swells of a rocky relationship over a lush and pulsing backdrop. Hanzo’s soul-filled hook is balanced well with SEANTHOMMONEY’s bouncy pocketed verse as both Atlanta natives flow about lingering uncertainties of love. These honest moments are cleverly cut with essential trap staples of backwoods and trips to the bank. The beat’s subtle and smooth chords mixed with crisp hi-hats and snares make for an instrumental that maintains both swagger and contemplation, just like the bars from the two Awful Records artists. Hanzo’s opening line “why you complicatin’ things? Got me contemplatin’ things” and closing line “I want you to know I’ve been thinking about it” establish an important nuance to the tone of the track that the gentle trap beat effectively assists. Here Hanzo and SEANTHEMMONEY ride the beat and express concern with a held back urgency that suggests an experienced grasp on the turmoil in question. For Hanzo and the significant other he’s addressing, nothing is too out of reach or impossible to handle, just a little complicated.
The collaborative track is impressively cohesive across artists and adds to a catalog of Awful Records that is defining of Atlanta’s emerging music scene. Surely the young and unique collective has no shortage of ideas or individuals. They merely have questions of who exactly is next in line. Check out the vibrant meditative video for “Complicated” now.
