Milton Keynes heroes Hacktivist announced an exciting team-up with rising American rap metal band Dropout Kings for the track ‘I Ain’t Depressed‘ expected to come out on 4 December 2020. The collaboration is promising to throw both sides of the Atlantic in a fiery battle of ruthless rap bars, chilling electronic samples and djenty guitars. Both Hacktivist and Dropout Kings share a very similar approach to blending heavy contemporary metal with hip-hop and electronics, and is very curious how the track is going to showcase their best features whilst maintaining the unique elements in each act.
With two spectacular vocal partnerships on both sides, the potential team-up of all four singers and rappers is sure to raise the heat up for the new single. Hacktivist are surely bringing J Hurley’s British grime sensibility and Jot Maxi’s coarse rapping and brutal screams, while Dropout Kings have Eddie Wellz and Adam Ramey to deliver the distinctively American nu-metal and hip-hop twist on the genre for what could sound like one of the most powerful collaborations of the year.
Вижте тази публикация в Instagram.@DROPOUTKINGSAZ & HACKTIVIST… 4.DEC.20 Head over to their page for the pre-release link
Hacktivist have been working on a new record for a while and have recently teased new material due to come out soon, sharing teasers of recording sessions across all social media channels. Whether this only meant the upcoming single ‘I Ain’t Depressed‘ or there is more to come before the end of the year is still uncertain, but fans have long anticipated a new album announcement or at least some news on the progress. As it is, with at least another month in lockdown at the UK and most countries across the globe, we have the new track to look forward to and keep us sane, which by coincidence (or not?) is dropping in the week when everyone is supposed to go back to “normal” life.
With 2020 slowly creeping away, Hacktivist’s latest music releases remain the three powerful singles from 2019 – ‘Reprogram‘, ‘Dogs of War‘ and the Prodigy cover ‘Spitfire‘. If all three potentially feature in the upcoming album, alongside the team-up with Dropout Kings, the record is already shaping to be worthy follow-up of their debut Outside The Box from 2016. Meanwhile, J Hurley recently dropped the “short film” for the grime track ‘No Chill‘, directed and edited by himself, with beats and production by Zaheer.
OUTNOW on my @YouTube channel Big up @ZaheerMusic on da beat A short film hahaha NoChill https://t.co/wnSA8STQPY pic.twitter.com/bSUaGqcvjr — J HURLEY – HACKTIVIST (@JHURLEYhizrec) October 23, 2020
Over the Atlantic, last week Dropout Kings featured on the electric single ‘Bottle Rat‘ by post-hardcore heavyweighs Outline in Colour, once again reminding everyone of their raw talent and promising future. Dropout Kings formed in Phoenix, Arizona back in 2016 just as Hacktivist were releasing their debut record in the UK. The similarities between the two bands and many, but Dropout Kings add an extra nu metal twist in both their instrumentaion and vocals, finding their unique signature sound in the scene and expected to add variety and depth to Hacktivist’s own distinctive sound.
The Pheonix six-piece have been getting more and more popular in the States, following their first album Audiodope from 2018 and their most recent EP GlitchGang from earlier this year, alongside frequent touring with the likes of Otep, Outline in Colour and Crazy Town, and also working with none other but Dez Fafara from DevilDriver and previously nu-metal godfathers Coal Chamber. Watch the video for Dropout King’s most popular track to date ‘Scratch & Claw‘ off Audiodope below, and just try to imagine Hacktivist joining in with their own infectious energy and unstoppable charge.
