Song of the Day: Christian Rich feat. JMSN “Fast Life”

Production duo Christian Rich have landed placements for a slate of today’s hot talents like Childish Gambino, Earl Sweatshirt, J. Cole and Vince Staples. Their full-length albums under their own banner are opportunities for them to showcase a broad sonic vocabulary that weaves a journey through contemporary rap sounds, R&B, indie pop, dance and dreamy electronica. And that pan-genre space is where “Fast Life” sits on their 2015 album FW14.

“Fast Life” has the languid tempo, synth bass and sparse, staccato drums of a current rap hit but the rough edges are gilded with floating strings and an R&B vocal from JMSN instead of an expected triplet Migos flow. The tune could find a home on a Syd or The Weeknd project.

Then things get really special at the 2:50 mark. Unexpectedly, the cut time tempo doubles and those angelic strings link up with a syncopated dance groove. As a huge devotee of the underground West London sound from the late nighties and oughts, I always perk up whenever I hear threads of bruk pop up in current tunes. Perhaps this Nigeria originating and L.A. based duo was listening to some 2000Black when they cut this record, or maybe it was just a happy accident for me. Either way, the latter half of “Fast Life” is a secret weapon groove that I keep returning to over and over.