Check Out Ex-Pat Dallas Rapper -topic’s Latest Atmospheric Single, Which Earned Itself A Placement On Spike Lee’s New Netflix Series.

Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.

So-So Topic – “Expl0de! (ft. Nic Harris & Adaggio)
RIYL: Spike Lee joints
What else you should know: For the past two years, famed director Spike Lee has been working on a Netflix original series called She’s Gotta Have It, and, in the ninth episode of the second season, there’s a special Easter egg to be found for Dallas music fans in the form of a fresh single from the Dallas-sprung rapper -topic called “Expl0de!”

In an interview with the Dallas Observer this week, the emcee explains how the placement came to be: “I literally saw a post on [Lee’s Instagram] asking for submissions and went with what I thought was a track that might’ve been too weird to work, but we hit the nail on the head.”

While “weird” wouldn’t exactly be our way of describing it, the track is without a doubt somewhat of a left-field selection. Sparing the crisp 808 snares that are backed through this track, there are attributes to this song that some would certainly consider unusual: A synth-heavy base lingers in the background as the vocalists sings in a southern gospel-influenced choral style with lyrics that rely on simile to express love in some of the oddest lyrical ways imaginable: “Like atom bombs, like napalm or like tear gas / I know your fuse is lit, my dear come with me, and let’s explode.”

With no hint of sarcasm whatsoever: swoon.

According to -topic’s Bandcamp page, the subsequent refrain “I want you babe” was backtracked with a whopping 70 vocal takes all at once here, and in song that wraps up in just two-minutes and seven-seconds, it closes with a repeated “Oh!” as the song dissolves into a satisfyingly resolved conclusion.

For his part, -topic seems every bit as thankful as his fellow locals for getting Lee’s attention: “Thanks for being weird with me, Spike Lee :)” the rapper notes on his Bandcamp page, where the track has been served up as a free download.

We’d like to echo that sentiment. Recognition for Dallas artists is always warmly welcomed around here — even if, for -topic, this just represents the latest cinematic placement in his repertoire.

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