A critically acclaimed cult hero and a member of the legendary Mob Figaz, Husalah’s new music hits the Bay like an earthquake. This past May, Husalah released with the relentless banger “M.O.B,” his first new solo song since 2012. “‘M.O.B’, is no ordinary return-to-form,” raved Pitchfork, “it’s a bona fide slapper, triumphant and devilish all at once.” Today, Husalah announces the MOB Maniac project, featuring “M.O.B” and the FADER-premiered “Protect Your Soul,” his first full-length project in a decade. Packed with mob anthems of every stripe and color, MOB Maniacfinds its strength in Husalah’s unshakeable cadence, elastic voice, and slick rhymes, tirelessly mutating to fit the cinematic mob instrumentals. A staple in Bay Area hip-hop culture, Husalah is often seen as the heir apparent to the late and legendary Mac Dre, and he’s maintained a high level of regional popularity despite his infrequent release schedule. Thirteen tracks long and boasting a list of some of the Bay’s best producers, MOB Maniac is an exhilarating listen, sure to be one of the most talked about albums in the Bay Area and beyond. Look for MOB Maniac, inspired by the 2015 death of Husalah’s Mob Figaz cohort The Jacka, to hit stores later this summer.
To accompany the album announcement, Husalah shares the raucous video for “M.O.B.” Matching the relentless intensity of the original audio, the video finds Husalah rocking a leather jacket with no shirt underneath, commanding a crowd of friends in the backstreets of his Bay Area neighborhood. Featuring rapid-fire cuts of Husalah and his mob go-karting, dipping & yoking old school cars, roasting blunts, hanging out of moving cars, and wilding out to Young L‘s robot funk instrumental, which Stereogum praised saying it “sounds like someone taught R2D2 how to become supremely funky.” “M.O.B.” paints a picture of all the best aspects of Bay Area rap – premiered with an extensive interview by Noisey, it is one of the most energetic videos of the year, and a perfect encapsulation of why we need Husalah in our lives in 2017.
“I decided to put the music out for the sake of preserving the culture and legacy of what we’ve been doing,” Husalah explained to Noisey. “From the historian aspect. Keep it going, keep it perpetual. Let the people remember what dope is, basically.”
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