Wiki and Subjxct 5 have confirmed the details of their debut collaborative mixtape, Cold Cuts, and shared its lead single, “My Life.” The New York City rapper and Elizabeth, New Jersey producer first teased the project back in March in a joint show on NTS they dubbed the “Cold Cuts Radio Hour.” Six months later, it’s finally coming to fruition with an arrival date set for October 21 and a tracklist featuring frequent Wiki collaborator Navy Blue, frequent Subjxct 5 collaborator Papo2oo4, and Dark World progenitor DJ Lucas.
Everything about the new project’s campaign thus far screams the type of old-school east coast hip-hop nostalgia Wiki and Subjxct 5 have both presented so artfully over the past decade, updating the familiar sounds ever so slightly for a new generation of listeners. From its low-key reveal — six months early for the real heads and still not exactly broadcast far and wide — to its lo-fi cover art — a cluttered flash photo of the duo posed behind a bodega counter — it’s dutiful to its source material.
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“My Life” follows suit. It’s an introspective treatise on disloyalty, paranoia, and grief, set to a minor-key piano beat that brings out the bass in Wiki’s voice. The Upper West Side native even goes so far as to shout out the specific New York emcees who got him through his darkest moments: “Started reading scripture / But it was Big L, The Bigger Picture [sic] / It was Biggie, it was Christopher that got me through high school / “Suicidal Thoughts” got me, I was suicidal.”
Cold Cuts will be Wiki’s first multi-track release, solo or collaborative, since the arrival of his third studio LP, Half God, in October 2021. Listen to his discussion of that record with Jordan Darville on the 22nd episode of The FADER Interview, and check out Lula Hyers’ January 2022 visual profile of the beloved, chip-toothed rapper in collaboration with Alpha Industries.
Subjxct 5 produces prolifically, and shared a collaborative mixtape with Papo2oo4 and DJ Lucas titled Dirty Designer early last year. Read Brandon Callender’s July 2022 interview with the Jersey sample wizard.
