Song of the Day: Chimurenga Renaissance - HomieZ (feat. Outspoken)

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is "HomieZ" (feat. Outspoken) by Chimurenga Renaissance from the 2015 EP Kudada Nekuva Munhu Mutema on Brick Lane Records.

Chimurenga Renaissance - HomieZ (feat. Outspoken) (MP3)

Otherworldly boom-bap meets Shona music in Chimurenga Renaissance, the Seattle-based project of Tendai Maraire and Hussein Kalonji. Both sons of musicians, Maraire and Kalonji were both long been active in Seattle hip-hop circles (Maraire is also a member of Shabazz Palaces) before starting Chimurenga Renaissance. ("Chimurenga" roughly translates to "the struggle for social justice" in English.) The first mixtape under the moniker, entitled Pungwe, was released in late 2012, and their debut album, riZe vadZimu riZe, followed in 2014. Earlier this year, the duo teamed up with Brooklyn-based DJ Chief Boima to release the Kudada Nekuva Munhu Mutema mixtape, which runs through new Chimurenga Renaissance material alongside reworked tracks from Junior Reid, Tinashe, and Zimbabwe Legit, as well as collaborations with mbira players Mbira dzeMuninga. "Homiez" rides a furious percussive pattern at a breakneck pace, with Maraire and Outspoken breathlessly rapping with as much fury as they've ever spat. Futuristic synths serve as a melodic lead off for the song, and the tempestuous chemistry between the two MCs never fades. "Homiez" is among Chimurenga Renaissance's most direct, hard-hitting tracks, and since Maraire's performances conjure as much empathy as they do energy, it's a pace that serves the group well.

Chimurenga Renaissance will be LIVE on KEXP on Tuesday, March 3rd, at 6:30PM, the day before they play Barboza with DJ Chief Boima and "special guests" on March 4th. Get tickets and more info on that 21+ show here, keep up with the band on Facebook and their website, and below, watch the group play "The B.A.D. Is So Good" when they were live on KEXP last year.