Queens rapper and producer, AJRadico has released a music video for his 2019 single, “Armor.” The 21-year-old emerging artist has used his young career to establish his holistic, cinematic perspective for creating music both behind the mic and from his producing. This wider scope comes partly from his multidisciplinary artistic talents coming from his time in film school and his work in fashion events like NYFW and PFW. His use of found sounds in his instrumentals merge into his intrinsically New York sound, demarcating his singular voice in an ocean of noise.
The self-produced “Armor” uses a series of wispy synths blurring together to create a sonic sketch of rush hour Manhattan. There are elements of glitch-hop in the spaceship-bass, but the track still feels organic and warm. AJRadico’s youthful braggadocio finds him flexing his video game prowess in lines like, “I came with the static like CRT monitor / If you want smoke in Melee then got it / Blast off in my rocket like Falco Lombardi.” Despite the vibrant, attention-demanding instrumental, the calm energy he brings through the speakers feels like watching him find his place amongst the city in realtime.
The accompanying visuals directed by Matt Westrich mirror this energy with anxiously cut shots of the subway, Midtown, and the everyday movie of New York. The video’s production gives a vintage effect with rainbow zebra print superimposed behind transitions. There is a nineties vibe that compliments some of the classic gaming references. Despite the wave of people and noise surrounding him, his charismatic performance always makes the camera find him.
“Armor” is available to stream here. Keep an ear to the ground for new incoming content as he has hinted at a project coming this fall.
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