Rap Blog: BNYX and Yeat can take you higher

Nine years ago, an interviewer asked Taylor Madison whether he thought aliens might enjoy his band Superheaven. "Definitely not," the lead singer replied, before softening his answer. "It depends on how they perceive sound." How could he have possibly known that a song from the band's first album Jar, recorded under their initial moniker Daylight, would eventually find its way into TikTok trends and now, the hands of the Psycho CEO himself? When "Youngest Daughter" first dropped, Yeat would have been roughly 13 years old.

The pairing probably seems as natural as breathing for BNYX, whose love of metal and pop music precedes his exposure to hip-hop, and for Yeat, who has previously dabbled in the realm of rap-rock. Many of the rapper's best songs feel monumental or even daunting, working with 808s and swarms of synths in a manner not dissimilar to the digicore textures of d0llywood1. Since talking to The FADER back in 2022, BNYX has produced for Drake, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Don Toliver and more — two of my lesser-known favorites are last year’s bubbly "Stain" by Quavo and this summer's buoyant "RESURRECT" by Odunsi (the Engine).

"Go Again" is a return to grungy form for BNYX and Yeat alike, vibrating with stoic immediacy. The sampled Superheaven track grapples with familial addiction, the pain of watching someone you love slip away in fits and starts. It's useless... I tried, to no avail... Yeat isn't averse to gazing down into that abyss, idly contemplating the state of his liver or inflecting his flexes with a hellish verve you just can't call joy, but here he's exhorting Taylor Madison not to give up hope just yet. Stepping back, the hook takes on a self-actualizing quality, as if watching Yeat shrug off the tepid response to February's 2093 before our eyes. I’m not saying this is 2024's “Higher,” but I’d love to see someone outdo it.