PH Fat has teamed up with production trio Ganja Beatz for his latest single “My Lady”. The result is a naïve love song that bridges the gaps between indie, pop and rap music.
Although his last release “Dark Dance” was a visit to his harder, darker side, the Cape Town based rapper has been showing his softer side more frequently as of late and, musically, “My Lady” might just be his softest release to date.
PH Fat puts his unique dark spin on the track’s message:
“I think this was all in about late 2016. I was feeling a bit jaded with love at the time and I wanted to put myself back in that un-damaged but ultimately naïve headspace. There is something fascinating about the mindless ideation that comes with a first love, it pre-empts a loss of innocence that comes with realizing that everyone is complex, and that no one is perfect…
Ideation can be just as damaging as devaluation. I think ‘My Lady’ is several things at once: A look back to a time when it was acceptable to see complex things in simpler terms, a chance to enjoy immersing myself in that world and letting it play itself out and, in doing so, attempt to integrate the childish naïve teenager that I once was with the jaded adult that I was in 2016. It was also just a chance to realize that growth and damage quite often aren’t that different from each other.”
The song was written and recorded intermittently from late 2016 until early 2019, sessions were split between the two artists studios in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Introduced to each other by their mutual friend Thulani Dandala, the gist of the track was done in Johannesburg at Ganja Beatz’ home studio in a hugely informal session.
PH Fat comments on the process
“They were just playing me some sketches and it was instantly like… “yeah… that one”. I remember I was in a rush to get to my next meeting so I just asked them to bounce it out as an instrumental so I could finish it properly.
And my voice was all screwed up from playing shows in Joburg all weekend when I recorded it, and every time I tried to re-track the vocals in my studio at home, I couldn’t copy what I did at their place with my messed up voice.
The intro vocal is still that first take from the first session. They’re so versatile as producers and they’re such rad dudes. I really hope we make some more music again soon. We weren’t always in the same town but damn, they were cool to work with.”
The track is also launched with a lyric video, beautifully animated by Luke Veysie & Christo Potgieter. The duo combined stop frame animation and hand drawn animation with “a whole lot of late nights and annoying mistakes” to create the video.
Luke Veysie comments on the concept behind the visual
“We just wanted to capture that awkward combination of teen angst and first love naivety. Ultimately, we decided to go with something that sneaks a bit of a punk DIY aesthetic into some well-finessed classroom doodles. Like if a 16-year-old skateboard punk and a prom queen coupled up to write a moving love letter.”
Check out the lyric video for “My Lady” below:
Ultimately “My Lady” is a testament to the versatility of both PH Fat and Ganja Beatz. Despite being on the softer side, for both artists it still manages to knock hard in its own way and will no doubt be a feature on radio stations all over the country. You can stream this song on all of the major music streaming sites.
The release pre-empts PH Fat’s upcoming EP “sex | love | heartbreak” which is releasing on the 16th of August 2019.
Watch this space for updates in the Music Videos category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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