There is no music genre so undisturbed these days as alternative hip-hop, which is what has kept its sonic habitat so irresistibly dark and exotic, a habitat where groups like Bonelang (Samy.Language and Matt Bones) produce distinct singles like its latest "Lacrimosa." The new song is something of an eerie experience that twists and turns from hair-raising hymns to explosive verses that flow furiously, laced with comedy and bravado. There is urgency in the track, a sense of peril maybe even, a message being sent out that demands attention like a blinding flare emerging from a dark jungle.
Of the message "Lacrimosa" sends, Bonelang states: "The verses on 'Lacrimosa' deal with a meta-awareness of being over-commercialized. I can see how meaningless all this excess is, but for some reason, I keep wanting it, engaging with it, living amongst it. It's like we're seeing the bait hanging from the hook, and we know damn well if we bite it, it's going to hurt us, but we do it anyway because the meat looks nice." That indeed is a message to amplify, which the music video for the song, directed by Samy, helps to do with a somber aesthetic and a fun attitude that pokes fun at that same somberness—great stuff!
Because there is so much to explore, so much to build in a genre not visited much by the mainstream since the late '90s, each entry is progressivism at its finest, a new direction that can seep into other genres and perhaps even find its way into the mainstream once again. Bonelang attempts to do just this with its new album SAINTMAKER out now. With each pulse of its sick rhythm and each verse of urgency, Bonelang invites sonic scouts to listen, to discover, and to surrender to the beat.
