Phoenix based rappers Shanker and Joey J and guitarist Nick Wille (known collectively as Belaganas) are ready to party and get into trouble in their new music video for “Jaywalkin”.
The video sees the trio running through the streets, alleyways, and even rooftops of Tempe, Arizona after starting some beef with 3 mysterious characters all sporting eccentric masks and clothing. Having thrown Furryface’s plate of cake on the ground, his pals Lizardface, and Blueface pursue the band with a vengeance gradually cornering them on a rooftop. As the “faces” walk away victoriously from piles of clothes signifying the disappearance of the band members, it’s clear that they messed with the wrong crew.
It’s a wild premise for a music video where the lyrics primarily point towards partying, dancing, and general debauchery. They take the title of “Jaywalkin” on a sharp left turn as it genre-bends various campy approaches to horror, high speed chases, and spaghetti western showdowns to humorous effect. As they rap and sing about wanting someone to “throw some cake on me”, they subvert the viewer’s assumption that they’re talking about big butts by bringing literal cake into the visual scenario.
This is band with a weird sense of humor and wild side to boot, and the song is hard hitting as each line is delivered with confident yells and grunts. It’s reminiscent of The Beastie Boys in some of their more humorous songs like “Brass Monkey” where nonsense is derived from the sensible in a way that may seem obvious in afterthought but isn’t what you would have initially expected.
“Jaywalkin” is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The accompanying music video is also available on YouTube. Find this and more excellent music on the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture Playlist on Spotify and YouTube.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
