MELODOWNZ ‘Money’

This week’s Local Eyes is from New Zealand MC MELODOWNZ with ‘Money’, the Polynesian wordsmith’s first drop of new music for 2021.

Where previous release ‘Big Deals’ featuring Diggy Dupé celebrated the hustle, ‘Money‘ charts what comes next, when you’ve secured the bag. “Everybody want a piece of the pie right, so we can all eat?” MELODOWNZ raps – when you’re determined to grind and others “start to cook beef,” at what point do you slow down?

First teased in the outro of the ‘Big Deals’ music video, ‘Money‘ is produced by DJ Khalil (Dr Dre, Nipsey Hussle, A$AP Rocky) who layers MELODOWNZ‘s blistering grit atop slapping drums and brooding chords. With room to breathe, the result is a savage assessment of capitalism, clout, class systems, materialism, poverty and the price of fame.

“When I wrote ‘Money’ I wanted to express how we are conditioned by money in today’s society. It’s a social norm to want nice things, have a good job, get married, have kids, buy a house etc. To a lot of people, that is their validation for success,” MELODOWNZ says. “I wrote the first half of the song back in 2014, so to revisit it, switch it up, and get it finished in LA at DJ Khalil’s studio was a true dream for me.”

Fresh off of an extensive Summer tour playing several festival main-stage slots across New Zealand, ‘Money‘ is the latest offering from the rapper’s forthcoming debut studio album set for release this year, following his collaboration with Denzel Curry on ‘No Mercy’, ‘Fine’, and ‘Big Deals’ featuring Diggy Dupé. Stay tuned for more from MELODOWNZ in 2021.

 

Also Melodownz came into Base Breakfast and had a chat with Ian Beatmaster Wright about the new single and video.