Yung Gleesh is a Washington, DC rapper who is part of a new strain of moody trap music, the kind ushered in by askew MCs Chief Keef and Young Thug. In particular, thanks to fellow District of Columbia personality Shy Glizzy, the style appears to have taken hold in the Mid-Atlantic as an even more eccentric type of trap-rap. And if you consider that Gleesh has collaborated with Sweden’s Lil B-informed teen oddity Yung Lean (on “Its Sad Boy”), where the rapper falls in the increasingly messy world of Internet-tracked-rap is both fuzzy and confusing.
On “Water,” the lead single from his forthcoming Cleadsides Finest III, Gleesh chants and shouts over a springy, gothic beat from producer Scottie Rob. The track’s video was directed by Will Hoopes, who is best known for the hypnotic and playfully low-stakes video for Chief Keef’s “Citgo,” which is punctuated by thrilling Matrix-y slow-motion footage but takes place in a suburban home and garage. Similarly, “Water” makes the most of a single location, turning a home into a modern horror-movie set by way of flickering lights, fog, and a few remixed camera moves from The Ring. Watch the video for “Water” above and purchase “Water” on iTunes now.
