Building off an ever-expanding list of projects and collaborations, Eric Krasno has tapped master of words and multi-instrumentalist Wax to team up on new set Light Years, a celebration of the duo’s love of organic, funk/jazz-inspired hip-hop beats. As a sampling of the pair’s fused approach, they have shared a new single, “In My Zone,” featuring Andy Frasco, which doubles as an album preview.
According to an official press release associated with the project, Krasno and Wax will peel back the layers of their impending full-length set, delivering a new single each month leading up to the album’s grand reveal in July. Serving as the initial listen, “In My Zone” connects unexpected musical elements like funk-dominated beats with layered guitar riffs and masterful lyricism to flex their joint sound, one that Krasno calls “highbrow boom bap hip hop.”
As a whole, Light Years was developed from a collaborative foundation, with rap features from Talib Kweli and rising musician Marlon Craft and vocal musings from Frasco and Kraz’s Lettuce bandmate Nigel Hall. On the set, the combined cast of characters presents a range of topics, touching on the modern climate crisis surviving existential dread while embracing light-hearted relationships.
“I get to really just be a rapper on this project, so I took the time to craft the verses meticulously. I want people who hear this that have no idea who I am to go ‘oh, i see why Kraz fucks with this dude,’” says Wax. “I like working with Kraz because when we feel like we have made something dope he turns up the volume, gets out of his producer chair, and just kinda stalks around the studio feeling the music. He ALWAYS has fun when he works. Not everyone is like that,” he adds.
Listen to the first single, “In My Zone,” now.
