Negros Americanos is a New Jersey-based bilingual hip-hop duo composed of Mc Enigma and Bishop the Eastside Nappyhead. They just came out with a new video for Can You Ride It, the first single off of the mini-doc Lost In The Wilderness : The Story of Negros Americanos (out May 29). As for what happens in the video, they have a better introduction than I could have written: “Watch as our heroes traverse mountainous regions and pick peaches and berries while delivering a quite magnificent display of lyricism.”
The track begins with a saucy guitar lick and repeating vocal hook (“can you ride it?”) to go along with some pretty light-hearted shots of Bishop messing around and peeing in the woods. He and Mc Enigma gesticulate in the grooviest of manners among rocks, creeks, and trees and lay down some raps about the most profound of subject matters (Bishop’s verse: “and there’s no way to completely cleanse the anal cavity” / “it could cause a tragedy, with fecal matter splatterin”). Mc Enigma’s verse is much more ‘on the sly’ (“I might look like I’m chill, but looks can be deceiving”), a devious and nefarious counterpart (though still light-hearted) to Bishop’s entry verse. The video presents a pleasantly naturalistic side to the hip-hop aesthetic in addition to a really welcome levity – sometimes I’m just not interested in watching a bunch of dudes take themselves super seriously for 4 minutes in grimy urban settings. Sometimes I like to feel nice and look at trees.
You can keep up with Negros Americanos on social media and stream their music on bandcamp.
