DJ Shadow has released an incredible new track, Nobody Speak featuring Run The Jewels. Earlier this month, Shadow announced a new album – his first full length since 2011’s The Less You Know, The Better and his first new release since 2014’s The Liquid Amber EP. Titled The Mountain Will Fall, his sixth full album will be released on June 24. Nobody Speak is the second official single from the album, following the title track released last week. The album will also feature Swerve, which dropped last year, as a bonus track.
With Shadow’s recognisable feel for atmosphere and melody, Nobody Speak is a nice, sharp cut harking back to 90’s trip hop. With a sparse beat, an eastern tinged melodic sample and a full brass section, Nobody Speak still has a serious groove.
Meanwhile, Mike and El do what they do best up above. Slick, fast and multi-dimensional, the pair run through a plethora of topics, with a vaguely socio-political theme at its core – see El’s referential line, “eh, you wanna hear a joke? Nobody speak, nobody get choked,” before trailing through an anti-Trump jab, a hilarious couplet where Killer Mike described smoking cocaine-laced blunts with the entire cast of Peanuts comics, and what I think is a brief Jay-Z reference later on “What more can I say?”
Speaking about Run The Jewels’ appearance on the track, Davis commented; “Occasionally, I make a beat that demands a specific vocal treatment and attitude. In the case of Nobody Speak, I wasn’t going to settle for anyone other than Run The Jewels; in my mind, it was them or no one. Fortunately, they agreed, and they took the track to a place I could never get to on my own. That’s the definition of a rewarding collaboration.”
In turn, El-P was recently quoted as praising Davis as “a legend and a friend. When he makes music he often changes music forever.” And according to Run The Jewels’ press release “When he asked us to jump on the record we didn’t blink.”
A digital version of the track will be included in Run The Jewels’ VRTJ viewer, as part of a Record Store Day exclusive. While premiered Nobody Speak with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, it was also announced that DJ Shadow will be hosting three Beats 1 shows. The first show, DJ Shadow Presents: #radioface, will air this June.
The Mountain Will Fall comes out on June 24 via Mass Appeal.
Track list:
01 The Mountain Will Fall
02 Nobody Speak (ft. Run the Jewels)
03 Three Ralphs
04 Bergschrund (ft. Nils Frahm)
05 The Sideshow (ft. Ernie Fresh)
06 Depth Charge
07 Mambo
08 Ashes to Oceans (ft. Matthew Halsall)
09 Pitter Patter (ft. G Jones & Bleep Bloop)
10 California
11 Ghost Town
12 Suicide Pact
13 Swerve (iTunes Bonus Track)
Image: Clash Music