Oh, how the times haves changed. Corporate America, once hated by cool kids alike is now a factory producing some of the most interesting singles and collaborations that are happening today. Adult Swim and Redbull have embraced the notion of acting as enablers for young artistic minds to come together through sponsoring far reaching singles programs. Look no further than “Knucklehead” by Lil Herb featuring Earl Sweatshirt for proof of this movement’s value. Earl’s dark and jazzy production always seemed more suited to the cold streets of New York than the sun drenched suburbs that Odd Future squirm their way through. Here he teams up with Lil’ Herb–who sounds a little too much like Joey Bada$$ for comfort–to explore this realm of hip-hop. The two blend together in the best way possible. I’d even wager that Earl sees how well his production works in this realm. He speeds up his traditionally uninspired–yet, technically impressive-delivery and seemingly gets carried away by the New York aggression he’s witnessing.

If corporations are leading artists to make genuine artistic discoveries, all that I want to say then is long live capitalism!

– Garrett Cottingham