Copious amounts of ink has been spilled over the last few years on how New York’s importance and influence and contemporary hip-hop has dwindled, and of how East Coast hip-hop has dwindled in importance. These aren’t terribly original arguments or critical viewpoints, as criticism much like life itself, is cyclical. I’m not going to join into that particular argument – nor am I particularly interested in it; I’m more concerned about dope shit over wack shit, regardless of where it comes from. And in an age where wack shit is getting precedence over real artistry, caring about actual artistry means more – and is desperately important.

“Bucka Bucka,” the first single off NYC-based producer/emcee duo KontraBand’s self-titled EP has the group enlisting the assistance of A$AP Mob’s A$AP Ty Beats production work – a trippy, looping sample with boom bap drums paired with Kemal’s rhyming, which makes references to inner city life and features fellow ICK crew member Aaron Cohen on the hook making references to the legendary Rucker basketball courts and Flushing Meadow Park. Simply put, the track features a dope emcee dexterously spitting over a dope beat; what more can you ask for? 

The official video for the song, who by Freshpres is a day in the life of the entire ICK crew, and it follows the crew as they’re hanging out, playing basketball and roaming the the streets of Flushing – and there’s enough food porn in the video to make you pretty hungry.