Gorillaz’s long-awaited new album Humanz continues to create pandemonium, providing die-hard fans a new soundtrack for the summer. The band has been feeding starving followers with brand new music, including material featuring Vince Staples, Big Baby D.R.A.M., Popcaan, and now, “Let Me Out” featuring Pusha T and Mavis Staples.
The standout song is an electric, bass-filled ride through America’s bleak state. Pusha T especially pulls no punches as he delivers one of his finest and most passionate features that touches on Trump’s presidency and police brutality. He raps, “Look into my eyes, mama, tell me what you see/Tell me there’s a chance for me to make it off the streets/Tell me that I won’t die at the hands of the police/Promise me I won’t outlive my nephew and my niece/Promise me my pastor isn’t lyin’ as he preach/Tell me that they’ll listen if it’s lessons that I teach.”
In an interview with Beats 1 Radio, King Push explains how the song was conceptualized during Trump’s campaign for president: “Spring 2016, we were in London, and they were like, ‘Yo, the Gorillaz have this record.’ …It was no hesitation on my end. When I get over there, Damon begins to tell me to conceptualize the album as a party for the end of the world, like if Trump were to win. I didn’t want to think about it, but that did give me a very colorful backdrop …I wrote from the perspective of this day …from the perspective of a Trump win. So when this shit really happened, I was like, ‘Wait a minute.’ And then I started wondering, ‘What kind of a crystal ball does this guy have?’”
With the Humanz album on the way, the Damon Albarn-led group have a lot in store, especially with festival season reaching its peak. Described “as an immersive pop-up experience,” the animated group also collaborated with Sonos to give fans “exclusive music and visuals through physical installations and projection mapping technology.”
The event is free to attend and you can purchase your tickets right here. Humanz is set to be released on April 28.