Pushing On Your Physical Existence

Flume featuring Vince Staples and Kučka “Smoke and Retribution”

Flume’s arrangement for “Smoke and Retribution” is jagged and unstable, with the beat and pretty much everything else in it reacting against a harsh keyboard part that sputters and bleeps like a malfunctioning alarm. It may be the freshest, most original rap track that I’ve heard in a few years, and the kind of thing that would only come from a hip-hop outsider like Flume. Vince Staples’ verses ground the song, and his emotional performance adds to the extreme dynamic of the track. The contrast gives the impression of someone trying to stay focused in a chaotic world, and the only relaxed moments come when the song shifts into sung parts by Kučka, which quickly shift from introspective to miserably fatalistic.

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