Tonight, the Show Me The Body/Jesus Piece/Scowl/Zulu tour touches down in Richmond. Reports from last night’s Philly opener have been tremendous, and I will tell you what, I am ready for this shit. I need it. A bunch of the bands on that tour have new music coming out, and LA hardcore avengers Zulu have just hit us with a new song.
Next month, Zulu will release their full-length debut A New Tomorrow. I have heard it, and it’s tremendous. We’ve already posted the massive stompers “Fakin’ Tha Funk (You Get Did)” and “Where I’m From,” the latter of which features Soul Glo’s Pierce Jordan and Playytime’s Obioma Ugonna. The band’s latest single “We’re More Than This” is very different. It’s not hardcore at all. It’s not even rapcore. It’s just a straight-up rap song, with guitarist Dez Yusuf rapping extremely well over the band’s laid-back live instrumentation. Here’s what Yusuf says about it:
When we first started writing for the record, Anaiah and I had bounced the idea of maybe doing some jazz or R&B songs and putting some raps on the record. I know Satchel and Anaiah had jammed out some different ideas that I hadn’t really been present for. We were actually ending our tour with Sasami when I first heard the music for “We’re More Than This.” We were in the van at a rest stop, and Anaiah played it off a video of him and Satchel jamming. It just hit me all in an instant.
I didn’t think much beyond the lyrics of “must I only share my pain,” which is a running theme throughout the album. But it’s ironic because I go forward with sharing glimpses of pain and trauma, but that’s really the setup to show the things I’ve (we’ve) become in spite of that pain. This is really a song of resilience and encouragement. Saying that we can still be more than the tropes that are put on us. That we are more than commodified versions of our trauma.
Dez Yusuf co-wrote the minimal but striking video for “We’re More Than This” with singer Anaiah Lei and videographer Tyler Bradberry. Watch it below.
A New Tomorrow is out 3/3 on Flatspot Records.
