There was a subgenre of  Black British Pop that dwelled on the grotesque and macabre. Inspired, in part, by British punk, goth and emo scenes that were defined by their obsession with gothic literature and aesthetics, but unable to join these sub-genres because of their overwhelming whiteness, these black artists found a way to splice their preoccupation with horror into more socially acceptable genres of pop and R&B, into which black artists were pigeonholed. Groups like Big Brovaz sampled classic and contemporary horror tropes as a way to infuse their music with a sense of wonder, especially ‘spooky’ or ‘ethereal’ samples in their music. It is these sounds that you first recognize when you hear Abuja based rapper Mo’ Gunz’s new single “No Time“.

A simple string of xylophone synth notes on a loop is the song’s primary melody. Added to a mist of foreboding hums, a four count 808 drum, guitar riffs and Nollywood-esque octave bent random synths, turns our primary loop into a anxiety inducing instrumental. Mo’ Gunz runs through a gamut of rap styles, switching with the song’s tempo and instrumental changes as he regales us with his single minded focus on the hustle. The punchlines are decent and he shows surprising dexterity with samples. References are also as vast as the samples on the song with Jesus and horror cult icon Jason getting name dropped.

It is a song you’ll definitely listen to more than once.

Listen to “No Time” here.

Listen to Nonso Amadi and Odunsi’s ‘War’ EP here