Before his recently released debut album, Diary Of An Arsonist PatricKxxLee already earmarked himself as one of the most adventurous trap-hop artists out of Africa with themes and compositions expressing feelings beyond the explicit. Opting for a ruthlessly dark narratives on his release, his goth and emo influences allow for honest-to-god messages as heard on his album released back in June.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYcr7JohbCT/?taken-by=patrickxxlee

For his follow up EP, Warning he remains earnest as day, with collaborators, Saint Klaus and BABYFACEDEAN camping on this same ethos. The two track release is an ambient representation of doomed relationships and its unhealthy effects. The opening track, “Bad Type” is a relatively minimalist affair, built mostly on a breezy skittering percussion, throbbing drums and some pitch-bent synthesizers playing underneath. It’s PatricKxxLee’s vocals that take centerstage as he coons, “She Likes Them Sad/ She Takes Them Meds” repeatedly for the hook. Saint Klaus resounds the cursed affection through “Love Is Rage” lines borrowed from PatricKxxLee’s DOAA while BABYFACEDEAN’s veers into meme-worthy iterations like “New Phone Who Are You?”

“Your Highness” is a thrilling and surprisingly rounded exploration of the complexity of modern life, challenging the expectations artists face. PatricKxxLee and BABYFACEDEAN delivers a sing-song verses while Saint Klaus gets back to rap flows showing his appreciation for good melody-writing. All three however hold together as they offer different perspectives on persevering as an artist—“We’ve Been On/ We Be Sipping”. Pairing the deconstruction of rock and the quiet mood of folk with the somber layer of vocal harmonies, “Your Highness” evokes the human trait of hoping for the best but secretly expecting the worst.

Saint Klaus and BABYFACEDEAN are rumoured to be linked with PatricKxxLee’s parent label, Artis records so it makes sense that they would feature on the Warning EP. You can stream the EP below.

https://soundcloud.com/artis_records/sets/warning-patrickxxlee-x-babyfacedean-x-saint-klaus

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/PatricKxxLee

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