Sparse twinkles and sexy purrs from none other than Brooklyn's finest, Ms Boogie, open her newest track, produced by sonic wunderkind, Phil Gamble aka Girl Unit. It's called "Sucker Free," and as Boogie is conditioning us to expect through verses that are all fire and no filler, she is not here to play games. This is made clear as the two-and-a-half minute track progresses; more sonic elements are introduced from skippy percussion to ominous bass rumbles.
"Sucker Free" is from Girl Unit's upcoming album, Song Feel, out April 5, which also features collaborations with Kelela, Taliwhoah, and more. The composition of "Sucker Free" nicely complements Boogie's lyrics — a production choice that suggests she's reinventing the game to her benefit. She is, as she raps, "calling out shit as soon I see it." That mentality makes these self-affirming lines really stick: "Got bitches peeking through my curtains/ Tryna get the number to my surgeon/ This is natural, bitch I earned it."
Gamble's production feels spacious enough to let groundbreaking artists like Boogie truly shine — an approach he applied to his co-conspirators, according to a press release. There are tracks on Song Feel where he takes more of a backseat, and then others where his blissful, nostalgic instrumentals take center stage. Either way, "Sucker Free" is like a little bit of both — a melodic lo-fi trap "No Scrubs" for a decidedly more self-aware generation.
Girl Unit (Photography: David Carvalho)
"A sucker is someone who has nothing positive to bring to the table and had a lack of drive and hustle," Ms Boogie tells PAPER about the track's meaning. "Ultimately, it's someone you don't want around. So, all you suckers out there can get to the back of the line." You heard it here first.
Enjoy the PAPER premiere of Girl Unit's "Sucker Free" featuring Ms Boogie, below.
Photo courtesy of Girl Unit/Ms Boogie