Hip-hop legend Kool Keith just played the Middle East in Cambridge last night, helping kick off a full-slate of Halloween parties this weekend around the Boston area. But the rapper left town with another link to the local scene: A fresh-out-of-the-oven collaboration with rock and roll bandits Dirty Bangs.
“I Was A Dead Kid,” which you can hear via Soundcloud, features an original verse by Kool Keith. His part has a bit of a Jim Carroll “People Who Died” kinda vibe to it. It slays.
“So we collaborated a while ago, and man, this dude is great,” says Dirty Bangs’ frontman Evan Kenney. “He actually loves rock and roll. We got hooked up with him through Keith [Pierce] of Party Bois. We wanted to get the best track for him to spit a verse over, and I wanted to write a lyrically shitty version of “Wasted” by Black Flag mixed with a Roxy Music reference. Keith loved it.”
Kool Keith, that is. But we’re sure the Party Bois co-frontman digs it too. We do.
“I am such a huge fan of him and his style and how wild he is,” Kenney adds. “It’s so great that he’s such a rock fan. And he loves junk food — he ate like 20 Snickers bite-size bars when he was recording this.”
Dirty Bangs, meanwhile, are up for four 2015 Boston Music Awards, including Song Of The Year (“I’m In Love With The Summertime”), Live Artist Of The Year, Rock/Indie Artist Of The Year, and Kenney for Male Vocalist Of The Year. Vote on it here.