KILO KISH NAVY

I first heard this song a few weeks ago on Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 (if you're not from the UK, you should check this out). There have been a number of breakthrough female I suppose rappers recently, from the quickly-diminishing Nicki Minaj ('Roman's Revenge' only good song soz NM fans) to the brash Angel Haze. Kilo Kish (real name Lakisha Kimberly Robinson), judging from this song, will be soon to join the others in the hearts and minds of millions of people. The Orlando-born Kish has already set the internet on fire with her awesomeness, so that's a good start. She's pretty damn good, pretty pretty pretty damn good, as is shown from the strangely titled 'Navy'.

The atonal guitars and bass in this song are what give it an unsettling quality, a slight jazz ring to it but overall it's something that doesn't quite gel with your ears - but it works y'know it works, and it keeps it's cool throughout the song like some old jazz cat asleep on a mat, or bouncing down the street; maybe that's more like an actual cat, like a cat kind of cat. All the same, it's an alluring sound.

That jazzy quality is supported by the skiffle flam paradiddle of the drums (drummers make these words up as they go along don't they?) emphasising the cool of the song as it goes along it's way. The beat turns hip hop with machine gun hi-hats in the chorus - where a star-glinting synth rains down too - which is where the vocal hook also shines with all its confidence and attitude. Speaking of those vocals, you could call it rap but I'd say it was more of a spoken word vibe going on hear y'know wha'mean? Have yo self a listen an' a watch (it's a selfie; she directed it).

The lyrics are clever and seem to be extracted directly from the heart of Kilo Kish herself, reflecting her feelings towards I guess a partner, for instance: "I respect / your intense / introspective defects" and "In deep space / I erase / all the memories of her face / our travels will replace / everything you once chased". Nice rhymes. And there's a lot of imagery here: solar systems, space travel, planets and all sorts of things - playing on the fact that we are all ourselves descended from the stars. How deep are her figurative bars on a deep subject matter - love (or at least some kind of affection get me).

Big things to come I'm sure, biiig things.

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