PREMIERE: Black Mafia – Haha (Translee, Rasstokyo, yusef slim) [@translee] [@rasstokyo] [@yusefslim]

A month after the audio release ‘Haha’ gets an animated lyric video to go alongside it.

‘Haha’ is an international collab featuring Alabama’s Translee and a duo of South East London talent’s in Rasstokyo and yusef slim. The track orchestrated by UK based Black Mafia Records follows similar suit to what The Plug Records did in 2019 in trying to orchestrate international collaborations that made sense musically. As such we get the trio of exciting talents exchanging verses over a bouncy production that seems tailored to suit all three equally.

Sonically ‘Haha’ doesn’t really sound like anything else out there. Production wise the dominant melody is provided through the strings which constantly feel as if they are building towards something ominous. This is intertwined with percussion which aids the feeling of a track that’s building particularly through the fast paced and incessant hi hats. This all blends together to create an interesting soundboard that the three rappers then each take their unique approaches too, creating a harmony between the production and vocals that will have you putting the track on repeat.

Visually things are kept relatively simple, it’s a lyric video after all there’s only so much you can do with them. This, however, doesn’t mean that the animation lacks creativity and New York animator Liam Eisenberg does a great job of creating something visually engaging to coincide with the track’s vibe.

You can stream ‘Haha’ here.