In anticipation of a new album, Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox, has released a brand-new record in collaboration with producer COSMIQ. With the duo’s collaborative effort set to be released soon, the hip hop veterans are hoping “Good Fuel,” will be just the song to give the album a push.
A gritty old-school New York record, “Good Fuel” sees Vast Aire continue a trend that has defined hip hop itself. In “Good Fuel” he descriptively conveys a proper image of the tough inner-city neighborhoods that Black people have inhabited for decades. The record begins with Vast Aire shouting out where he is from (Washington Heights, Harlem, New York City), with these locations also representing the setting for the story-like “Good Fuel.”
“Good Fuel” resembles other inner-city themed rap songs. Humble beginning, “we used to be shoulder to shoulder like ‘someone push me.’ Holes in your sucks, you got no p****.” To taking an interest in the street life in search of a better life for self and family, “I’m talking sky pagers with the fly beepers, all the drug dealers had the fly sneakers.” To eventual questioning of the political regime whose job it is to help the disenfranchised, “my commander-in-chief is running amuck. These right-winged lobbyists could care less, it’s settle for this evil or settle for less.”
“This track is important for our times right now,” says Vast Aire. “We all are coping with the chaos of COVID-19 and also the shock and trauma of Trump’s political coup. ‘Good Fuel’ reminds the youth and elders to remain righteous, while standing up in the face of oppression.”
“This song represents what Hip-Hop has always stood for, being the voice of the streets; from the lost criminal to the struggling and hard-working blue-collar workers. My late parents are those very people– and so am I!”
