Alo Wala is a trio that may arguably be at the forefront of a truly global bass movement, and not in the sense that most Americans/Westerners would think of global music — that is, something decidedly foreign with unfamiliar instrumentation and lyrics sung in some language other than English. In fact the trio is comprised of a Punjabi-Indian emcee who hails from Chicago, who works with a Danish production duo to create a world-spanning, genre mashing sound that contains elements of dancehall, hip-hop, reggae, trap and uses classical Indian instrumentation — all while lyrically, their material focuses on New York, as you’ll hear on “Cityboy,” the first single and EP title track off their soon-to-be released Cityboy EP.

Featuring the guest vocals of dancehall vocalist Jahdan Blakkamoore, “Cityboy” not only describes the effortless and cool swagger of the New Yorker, it also manages to sound much like the sounds off the streets of my beloved hometown — in particular, I think of Jackson Heights, Richmond Hill, Crown Heights and others. And as you hear this track, it’ll probably remind you a little bit of very early M.I.A. and that’s a pretty awesome (and fair) comparison.

The recently released official video manages to capture the gritty, swagger of New York in the asme fashion that the song does – it’s the look, sound and feel of my beloved home.