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Rising MC Angel Haze Grinds and Shines on ‘Werkin’ Girls’

Angel Haze

When Angel Haze first started drawing online attention a couple of years ago for tracks like the Drake-Jamie Foxx remix “Fall for Your Type,”, her precocious rapping ability was only part of the story. Just as impressive was the vulnerability and emotional depth she used that verbal dexterity to express. As the suburban Washington, D.C.-via-Michigan MC preps her July 17 Reservations EP, her flow has only grown more nimble, and she’s shed her earnest self-consciousness to talk shit with the nastiest of them.

Rhyming forcefully over the bare claps, disembodied vocal snippets, and electronic whirs of prior EP cut “New York,” Haze not only staked her claim to the city that never sleeps, she also maintained a social awareness that manifests itself in a reference to the Underground Railroad. On the similar minimal, icy “Werkin’ Girls,” though, Haze is all id, growling about money, brandishing death threats, and pointedly picking up Azealia Banks’ memorable phrase “Duck, Duck, Bitch.” Nasty? Diarrhea is involved. Right before a line that brings to mind Tyler, the Creator’s recent Twitter quip, “Im A Toilet.” Eghck.

In a way, Haze’s all-business turn is only logical. On the title track from 2011’s Altered Ego mixtape, Haze raps about only thinking, “I wanna win / I don’t ever wanna have to worry about making it here again, so I gotta be just like them.” So far, her realization of that lyric has been more sweet than bitter; catch her in her live New York City debut on July 19 at Santos Party House.

Download ‘Werkin’ Girls’ from True Panther here.