Hailing from Harare, Zimbabwe, The Monkey Nuts blend conscious hip-hop lyrics, soulful afro-electro beats, blaring guitar riffs, funky jazz and down-tempo trance music in their latest album Boombap Idiophonics. The group is responsible for bringing a new sound to the streets of Harare and recently gained worldwide attention when signing with UK's BBE Records.
The out-of-bounds hip-hop collective is premiering an experimental outer space track with Okayafrica today. "Ndiani Aparadza" is a trippy bonus track about the effects of sudden fame off their latest LP. The intricately-produced track is laced with mbira and traditional Zimbabwean vocal samples that break up blocks of tight rhymes throughout the song, like "Gold chains and diamond rings, one can express the joy it brings. Lights, cameras, the caged-bird sings."
"Ndiani Aparadza" begins with a gentle mbira and ends with a mash-up of the uncomfortable sound of records skipping repeatedly. It's unpredictable, unapologetic and everything we could ever ask for from a hip-hop collective in 2015. Stream The Monkey Nuts' "Ndiani Aparadza" and a sampler of their LP below.
