Music Insights
VIDEO VIEWS BY JC: GoldLink – Zulu Screams ft. Maleek Berry, Bibi Bourelly
Rhythmic chanting fills a silence, followed closely by playful dance hall drums. Goldlink has reinvented himself again. “Right, I’m feeling like a brand new me,” he confirms, setting upon a lyrical ride with percussive precision.
In new release Zulu Screams the juxtaposition of unexpected musical elements and vigorous rhythm is recognizable immediately, but there’s a new essence at work here. The baseline deepens into a sinister ripple only to pop back out into lighter fare so smoothly it’s disorienting. This mutability is what makes Goldlink so undeniable: music that is as likely to find a home in an underground warehouse as a happy hour patio is to be respected. An uncompromising artist, Goldlink has always dashed between genres, trampling the divide between Hip hop, Electronica, and R&B with seamless workmanship. In Zulu Screams he builds a new world, one equal parts entertainment and social commentary. His confidence is undeniably empowering.
I ain’t been back in a minute, that’s crazy
I ain’t seen you ’round, don’t call, don’t page me
Pull up on your block, don’t you ever try to fade me
Calm down, all good, baby, it’s gravy
The music video directed by Meji Alabi is a vivid dive into an unaffected crowd of lithe dancers, swaying under decorative masks and face paint as paper money sifts down unheeded. In a long black leather jacket and sunglasses, Goldlink stands high above his audience under a blood red moon. It’s never been so fun to get flexed on.