Kari Faux caught our ear last week when Childish Gambino hopped on her goopy, thumping single "No Small Talk." Today, the Arkansas rapper posted a brilliant response to hordes of rappers begging for the beat to file their own remixes. She shared an apparent instrumental on Soundcloud with the description "ENJOY," but right before the beat drops, Rick Astley bursts into the room, a freestyle deferred. It's ironic in one way, profound in another: Gambino's remix undoubtedly raised Kari's profile in the first place, and some of our favorite new artists broke ground via a big-name flip. But rap's incessant culture of remixes and freestyles has bred laziness and monotony, leaving listeners with more versions of "Try Me" and "Hot Nigga" than anyone could ever have use for. Also, "Please post this instrumental!" is kind of an insult—"Your song is good, but it'd be even better with my voice on it instead of yours!"—opportunistic at best and condescending at worst. It's cool to see Kari poke fun at the absurdity of it all, a well-executed troll from the self-professed "Rap Game Daria." Plus, it gives us an excuse to run the track back, not that we really needed one. Get your lulz in, then stream her Laugh Now, Die Later EP below.
