In the triplet kicks of a Dariacore mashup or a chaotic dltzk breakdown, SoundCloud’s digicore scene has made its taste for Jersey club music increasingly transparent. But rarely do the Brick City influences blend as explicitly as they do on the five-way collab “paterson new jersey.” Produced by dazegxd, glumboy, and elipropper, the instrumental’s creaky bounce and twinkling synths create a more subdued backdrop than you’d normally expect from Xaviersobased or Kuru. That extra space deepens the contrast between the former’s improvised, conversational flow and the latter’s breathless, Auto-Tuned melodies. I’m so used to these artists’ music being pitch-shifted or bitcrushed beyond recognition that hearing them so clearly feels like trespassing on a late-night freestyle session. Unexpected collaborations are already a big part of digicore’s appeal, but the fusion’s even more powerful when it happens IRL instead of the depths of a Discord server.
With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace, it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from Xaviersobased and Kuru and more on our Spotify playlist.
