Rapper Pink Siifu and producer Ahwlee, who’ve recorded together as B. Cool-Aid since 2017, specialize in suave, crackly music that exists somewhere in between Butcher Brown’s live-band jazz and A Tribe Called Quest–style boom-bap. Kicking off their upcoming album Leather Blvd., their latest single is about keeping faith: “Everything’s gonna turn around someday/Everything gonna make sense, let’s pray,” Siifu croons over a crisp drum pattern and bass. Halfway through, the beat stutters and wears down. The ghostly coos of Liv.e, Jimetta Rose, and V.C.R. waft behind a mellow, flatly-delivered verse from Maurice II, who is done listening to naysayers: “Somebody full of fear, somebody ain’t/Minding they business, wanna talk about how I move.” None of them know where the world is headed, but they’re interested in holding onto what they have—their families, their resolve—and continuing to groove.
– Pitchfork, Jan 2023
