Skip to content
Premieres

Hot Sugar, Kool A.D., Fat Tony, and More Sulk With Swagger in ‘Leverage’ Video

Hot Sugar Kool A.D. Fat Tony Lakutis Leverage Video

Syrup-addled sad bastard producer Hot Sugar snuck out his MiDi Murder EP last year, but the guest-packed short-player was censored due to a team-up with Scion. (SPIN actually premiered the Haleek Maul team-up, “I Don’t Wanna B Judged.”) That relationship having since dissolved, he’s re-released the seven-song set to Bandcamp on a pay-what-you-like basis and is celebrating his independence with a music video for the stunner of a standout, “Leverage.”

The beautifully brooding beat sets an unlikely tone for former Das Racist rapper Kool A.D., who takes the cue and turns in one of his best verses in memory. The first few lines: “All I want is a house and some money to travel / A simple game putting letters together like Scrabble / Sisyphus’ lesson crushing the rock into gravel.” Next up is his “Hood Party” pal Fat Tony, who’s positively feeling himself (and we’re feeling his Lion King tee) as he vacillates between paced swagger and fast-rapped braggadocio. Lakutis drops by for the distorted bridge, and Nasty Nigel (Children of the Night, World’s Fair) brings things to a close with a Christian Bale shout-out.

Each appears in the video above — alongside the scowling, fur-bedecked Hot Sugar — which is situated in some kind of beachy wasteland. Stream the rest of MiDi Murder below.