Music / August 10, 2022

Loyle Carner links with Madlib and John Agard in ‘Georgetown’

Loyle Carner, photo credit: Jesse Crankson
Music / August 10, 2022

Loyle Carner links with Madlib and John Agard in ‘Georgetown’

Words: Dylan Murphy

“It is a representation of finally feeling like one whole person instead of two halves. Also another piece of the MADloyle puzzle. More on the hard drive.”

Loyle Carner season is in full flow. The rapper returned in July with ‘Hate’, his first solo single since 2020’s ‘Yesterday‘ and today he’s shared his second song in as many months titled ‘Georgetown’. Like ‘Yesterday’ it features production from none other than the legendary Madlib and maintains the same uncompromising lyricism showcased on ‘Hate’.  

Georgetown’ is LC at his sharpest, spitting on a trademark head nodder from Oxnard’s finest. Weaving personal ruminations on being mixed race with observations on wider society, Loyle’s bars stick particularly well as follow ups to the opening sample of mixed-race Guyanese poet John Agard’s poem ‘Half-caste’.

It comes as no surprise that the stunning visuals come courtesy of the track’s namesake Georgetown in Guyana and speaking on the track Loyle says:

“John Agard’s poem ‘Half-caste‘ had a heavy impact on me. To see someone who was older, that looked like me, sharing a reflection of a similar lived experience made me feel comfortable/proud to not fit in. It kinda gave me the permission to finally write explicitly about being mixed. There’s so much beauty in the gaps in-between, and in some ways this song touches on that. For me, it’s about finding this inner confidence through understanding of self, and spending time back home. It is a representation of finally feeling like one whole person instead of two halves. Also another piece of the MADloyle puzzle. More on the hard drive.”

Album coming soon?

Watch the video for ‘Georgetown‘ below:

Elsewhere on District: Jeshi to headline The Workman’s Club.