From Sophomore Album “Always With U”
Out Now on Bastard Jazz Recordings
Ibe Soliman aka Bad Colours returns with the video for the Hip-House monster “You Don’t Know” featuring NYC rapper KAS (known for his work with Grammy nominated super producer Harmony Samuels), Seattle rap icon Jarv Dee and LA vocalist JVDE. Directed and produced by Slick Jackson (Wiz Khalifa, Joey Bada$$) and inspired by iconic New York centric hip-hop music videos, KAS and Bad Colours are against phony photo backdrops in and around the city during the brief period in between fall and winter.
Musically Jarv and KAS trade dense, rapid-fire verses about keeping your head down and staying on the grind on top of Ibe’s energetic 4 on the floor drums and detuned vocals, with JVDE’s stacked vocals towards the end of the track. “You Don’t Know” is high-energy hip house at its finest: Super catchy and irresistibly dancey.
Bad Colours is the moniker of London-born, Maryland-raised, Brooklyn-based DJ, songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist Ibe Soliman. While his career has spanned over a decade – as both a DJ (alongside the likes of James Murphy, Mark Ronson, and Q-Tip) and producer (for Kendrick Lamar, Faith Evans, Keyshia Cole, and Rick Ross, among others) – the Bad Colours name only came into being in early 2020, with the debut LP, “PINK,” being released in February, 2021 on the Brooklyn tastemaker label Bastard Jazz. By tapping into his deep network of artist friends, Ibe compiled a treasure-trove of vocal samples, snippets, sketches, and fresh instrumental loops into a beautiful debut record that touches on hip-hop, house, and left-field electronic, while remaining irresistibly danceable.
A slew of singles throughout 2020 and 2021 included “Feelin’ Like,” featuring the Seattle rapper Jarv Dee, has become an underground hit, popping up everywhere from Best Buy ads, Hulu’s “Woke,” celebrity Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell’s playlist, and even as a soundtrack to the Mayor of Madrid’s TikTok video. Most recently, “Feelin’ Like” soundtracked the #1 Netflix film “Spiderhead,” directed by Joseph Kosinski (“Tron: Legacy;” “Top Gun: Maverick”) and starring Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett.
The breakout success of “Feelin’ Like” further led to a collaborative EP with Jarv Dee, titled “BLAKHOUSE,” which saw additional features from fellow PNW natives Shabazz Palaces (“Clouds,” featured in Hulu’s “Shoresy”) and Stas THEE Boss (“Black Skin”). This year, Bad Colours dropped the early Summer banger “Hit The Breaks,” and served as the musical director for the influential MADE New York festival, a two-day fashion, music, and arts event presented by Public School NYC and Paypal, that saw performances by Nas, Heron Preston, and Bearcat, among others.
The sophomore Bad Colours LP, “Always With U” sees Ibe further develop his talents as a songwriter and producer, while maintaining the seductive balance of banging dance music and dense bars that is quickly becoming a Bad Colours signature. While “PINK” put Ibe in the role of compiler and curator, “Always With U” expands it to both a collaborator, band leader, and all-around star-of-the-show. “Always With U” is certainly still a dance record, but it’s also so much more: Live instrumentation accompanies every track (with the notable contribution of Nigerian bassist Akin-Alade Ogo), the rappers’ (Jarv Dee, N.O.V, KAS, and Dave Giles II) verses hit harder, and the vocalists (JVDE, Marcus Harmon, Cor.Ece, and Toribio) take center stage.
The lead single, “Maybe I Should Move To LA,” will see visual treatment by acclaimed director and videographer Slick Jackson (Wiz Khalifa, Joey Bada$$), and a further music video is also in the works. Yes, the house and hip-hop roots remain, but “Always With U” shows an evolution of the Bad Colours sound, from dance-floor-ready tracks, to masterfully crafted songs. It’s a truly stunning follow-up from an artist undoubtedly on the rise.
