The trio kick off 2022 with a Michigan new wave rap-inspired cut.

Barely a week into 2022 and we’re already up to our eyeballs in previews of new music. The pick of the bunch this week comes courtesy of three of last year’s most prolific acts. Curtisy, Ahmed, With Love. and Rory Sweeney were all active respectively in 2021 and going by their latest effort we’re guessing their new year’s resolution is more of the same.

With Rory and Ahmed previously teaming up on’X-Pac Heat’ they’ve now invited Curtisy for their jacked up new single ‘Men On A Mission.’ Borrowing influence from footwork and Michigan’s new wave rap scene the instrumental sounds like an adderall high became sentient, meanwhile Curtisy and Ahmed barely break sweat as they go through the gears.

The monochrome visuals, directed by Belfast film maker Conor Bradley follows Ahmed and Curtisy across the capital over the course of a day and it marks their first release in what promises to be a busy year. Ahead of the release of the video we caught up with them to get an insight into the inspiration.

Visually, what was the inspiration for the video?

Conor: The inspiration for the music video really came about firstly through us all wanting to work together. We’d already agreed to do a music video before id pitched an idea. But I knew I wanted to do something predominantly set in the back area of O’Connell Street. It’s somewhere that deeply fascinates me. It’s refreshingly unpolished and has an amalgamation of different characters and cultures. In the midst of a city being culturally struck by Neo liberal politics – it’s a place that still feels very real. It reminded me of the lads, they make tunes out of a DIY studio set up in a kitchen. It’s really that shared attitude that inspired the video.

What was the process of creating the video like?

Curtisy: In the middle of October we all linked up for 2 days worth of fun caught on camera. We started early to get as much as we could done and it paid off, feels like we packed a week worth of activities into those days. Conor had us in and out of shops, on and off the dart, eating ice cream, walking dogs, all sorts.A big family weekend out.
This video is something our heart is really in, everyone happily did their part, it all went so smoothly. When we finished shooting I felt ecstatic, like I knew we had something great.

The three of you have formed a strong working relationship in the past year, what can we expect in 2022?

Ahmed: In no hyperbole, this is the unholiest of alliances. From the day Gav, Rory and I made this first track to now we’ve all been consistently linking up, working jamming out and genuinely having fun. It’s like a little family, and there’s no better feeling finding people on the same wavelength as you forcing you to push your craft further. 2022’s the year we really let everyone else know we’ve been at this for time.

Watch the video for ‘Men On A Mission.’ below:

Previous premiere: Khakikid is dragging his heels in ‘Cozy’.