Inglewood idol Bbyafricka and New York City producer supergroup SURF GANG went into the studio with a dream and plan. SURF GANG’s evilgiane took the lead, working with Bbyafricka to churn out tracks that spotlight her melodic free flows over his experimental, electric soundscapes.
The result is what listeners could only hope for the future of rap — a no-rules, just-immaculate-vibes approach culminating under the title HARD COPY.
The EP opens with glitchy “AMMO,” with Bbyafricka rapping, “I know you don’t want me/ You’re just looking for some sex,” on the track at a leisurely pace, adding “I know I’m not the one meant for you just cause you love me,” at the refrain. On “BET,” the bass takes center stage as Bbyafricka giggles and reminds listeners she’s not “fucking with him” over a static, gritty beat. On “SEASICK,” Bbyafricka outlines what we love about her flow, acknowledging that she’s “Swimming on the beat so good” before telling us that’s why we’re so seasick, all over evilgiane’s swirling, hypnotic beat. With “PARACHUTE,” the duo creates a hypnotic, longing track, with Babyafricka spitting, “I don’t want to think/ I wanna be with you,” her voice echoing and glitching at the chorus.
Their collab came together seamlessly. When evilgiane got a request to work with Bbyafricka his response was immediate: "What? Hell yeah, I love her music."
"We got in the studio and did a couple of songs, then later he wanted to do a tape and I was like, 'Hell yeah'," Bbyafricka adds.
Below, Bbyafricka and evilgiane talk to PAPER about each track of their HARD COPY EP, how they got into the studio and if and when they’ll collaborate next.
How did you come together? What was the initial idea behind collab?
evilgiane: It was pretty simple on my side. This person hit me up randomly and was like "Yo, would you be down to work with Bbyafricka" and I was like "What? Hell yeah, I love her music." The rest is history from there.
Bbyafricka: We got in the studio and did a couple of songs. Then, later on down the line they were like, "I want to do a tape," and I was like, "Oh, hell yeah that'd be fire." And then yeah, we got in studio and we recorded the rest of the songs. Everything just came together perfectly.
Let's dig into the four tracks. How did "AMMO" come together in the studio?
Bbyafricka: I don't think I've ever done a song like that, on a beat like that.
evilgiane: Yeah, it's really evil, evil sounding.
Bbyafricka: I don't even think I heard that track until I got inside the studio. So I didn't even know what I was gonna be on. I just went in with, like, an open mind. And it was like one of my favorite ones from the tape.
evilgiane: Me, too! I was really hyped that you got on it too.
What about "AMMO" made it one of your favorites?
Bbyafricka: My cadence on it. It's a cute song. Also the fact that I have nothing like that. I like when I can work with people who bring me out of my comfort zone and we both still end up liking it.
evilgiane: Your energy on that was just gangster too.
Bbyafricka: "AMMO" and the last one, "PARACHUTE," are my favorite ones.
What makes "PARACHUTE," another standout for you?
Bbyafricka: It's another song that I've never did anything like before. The first time I tried to record on it, I don't know if it was just that the engineer in me wasn't working with the vocals. I was like, "I have to get on this!" but it wasn't coming out right. Then I tried it again and I was like, "Alright, I knew I could do it!"
evilgiane: I don't think it even has a sample. Low key me and my friends made that melody.
Since this was your first collab, did it come together easily or were there any challenges?
evilgiane: I feel like it was pretty smooth sailing. It was just a really calm session, just showed up, played. I was nervous to play beats because I was like, I don't know if she's going to fuck with it. Like, Should I do more real Bbyafricka type shit..
Bbyafricka: No, never!
evilgiane: Or, you know, keep it, evilgiane. You know, it just, it just went smooth. I can't even explain it, it went perfect.
Love those two phrases: “Bbyafricka shit” and “keeping it evilgiane.” How do you describe those sounds?
evilgiane: From my perspective, I felt like [“Bbyafricka shit”] was not really West Coast-y — but more of a stripper-like, twerk-type music. Turn-up party shit. I got her on some evil gothic-sounding shit.
I love that. Let's talk "SEASICK," such a nice flow on that one. How did it come together?
Bbyafricka: On that I wanted to talk some evil shit on a calm beat. The beat reminds me of Mr. Rogers, just calm like waking up in the morning getting dressed putting your shit on, but I was like, I really need to talk some shit. I fuck with that one too, that's a flow I've never done before.
And the last one I want to touch on is "BET."
Bbyafricka: That one's funny. I recorded it at my baby dad's house and then I didn't have enough time to finish it. So then I went back in the studio with my homegirls. I finished it, and she was playing me this audio of her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, who was mad that he was seeing a new girl. She was sending him voice notes like, "Where that bitch at?" And I was like, "Well we need to use this, we need to get this into a song." So he put her in there and we based on the song on that. She was giving me little phrases to use. I was like, "You know what? I'm going to eat him up with this!"
Now that HARD COPY is out, how do you hope fans feel when they hear it?
evilgiane: This shit is like hella hype. I want them to be moshing and shit. Honestly, this is a perfect drop for the summer.
Bbyafricka: I like it because it's a new sound for the people hearing from me. And also it's the collab they didn't know they needed.
evilgiane: For real. Nobody sound like that for real.
Photography: Francisco Russo
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