What is the meaning of a beat that sounds like it was made to incite the man on the moon to murder? A triple hi-hat spill that emphasizes the high and trill parts of the equation. The Outfit, Tx. mixing Memphis, Cleveland, and the eternal promethazine-spiked slant of Texas into something that sounds expansive and narcotic, ideal for your spaceship to start swanging on 4s.
Do spaceships have trunks? Can you sell tapes out of them? If you plant a Screwston flag on Mars, does that mean that we can exile DeAndre Jordan there to start a new colony? Could The Outfit have convinced him to stay in Texas? Should Chandler Parsons have recruited them to help guide DJ’s fabled trip club and escort tour of the Lone Star state? What do I mean?
The above single, “Whatcha Mean” answers all the questions. Named after an artsy area of the Dallas where many of the local independent artists dwell (check Mel’s piece on Dallas rap for Noisey), it’s the lead single from forthcoming Deep Ellum EP, which intends to introduce the largely undiscovered rap scene. The beat comes from Mel and Dorian. Rapper JayHawk joins Crit Morris. Mel supplies the space age hypnosis chorus.
“What You Mean” embodies all of our shared experiences of folks having us fucked up,” Mel says. “The periodic references to a woman or two are only a part of the larger populous of folks standing under the umbrella of having all of us fucked up. In life, it seems, countless people offer you their unrequested two pennies, tell you what you can or cannot do, place themselves in the middle of YOUR business, and all kind of other ridiculous shit.
On the song’s hook, we seemingly lend an ear to the aforementioned ridiculous folks, giving them an opportunity to get their words in. As soon as the verses start, we turn up on they funky ass in the middle of a sentence, throw imaginary money in their face, style and profile, and any other off-putting, “I ain’t trying to hear that bullcorn” actions one could fathom.
The track’s accompanying white-noised cover design illustrates the brain’s reception to the above advice and opinions. It is also a motif of our current mode, as a whole.”
