One of the oddest new performers taking advantage of the “anything goes” climate produced by social media and streaming is Atlanta rapper 645AR. Emerging from seemingly out of nowhere with viral hits “Bible And A K” and “Crack,” 645AR’s most distinguishing quality is his double take-inducing delivery — an ear-piercing squeak that takes Young Thugs vocal-rending approach to an out-of-the-box extreme. Today, he’s delivering the most attention-getting feature of his burgeoning career in FKA Twigs on the new single, “Sum Bout U.”
Somehow, it’s a collaboration that is shocking yet unsurprising, making sense even as it twists the boundaries of the genre with unconventional appeal. FKA Twigs is already pretty well-known for riding on the cutting edge of pop and soul with tracks like “We Are The Womxn” and her appearance on Ty Dolla Sign’s “Ego Death” with Kanye West. Here, she adopts a reflection of 645AR’s straining falsetto delivery, making for an aurally intriguing approach to the usual trap antics of 645AR’s Atlanta compatriots.
As Twigs is a little under a year removed from her outstanding album Magdalene and 645AR is garnering more and more attention with his unusual vocal tic, the pairing offers a chance for both to raise their respective profiles — especially at a time where new music releases have slowed down considerably in response to an ongoing pandemic
Listen to FKA Twigs and 645AR’s “Sum Bout U” above.