Mega Ran, a Phoenix, AZ-based hip-hop outfit and Storyville, a Philadelphia, PA-based emcee who both developed reputations through the battle rap scene (both artists are former Scribble Jam Battle finalists) have teamed up on “Artillery,” the first single off Mega Ran’s latest effort Soul Veggies, which interestingly enough debuted at number 47 on Billboard’s Indie Charts last week. 

Produced by Small Professor, the track which is comprised of a looped horn and piano sample and boom bap drums channels the spirit of late hip-hop’s golden era with modern production style and sensibility. At the end of the day, the song features emcees dexterously spitting lyrics and punchlines over dope beats. (Maybe my mind operates in a rather weird fashion but after playing this video maybe a dozen times or so, I immediately thought of Marley Marl’s “The Symphony” – perhaps because of the looped piano sample.)

The official video for “Artillery” channels Tron as it features Mega Ran and Storyville rhyming over glowing, neon processor chips and video game footage and includes digital boxing gloves, retinal scans – and a DeLorean. It’s trippy but manages to be fun.