One of the newest young rappers in the game is Washington, D.C. based producer and songwriter, ARIA. In his musical pursuit, he has turned down multiple University scholarships to focus on his climb to the top. Since his 2018 debut single ‘Bleu Chanel‘, this budding new artist has amassed a growing discography with over 100 million streams from fans around the world. ARIA’s music has reached the top of popular streaming charts including Apple, Deezer & iTunes and even reached #1 on renowned music blog, Hype Machine. Joining him on his newest release is Russian powerhouse newcomer Kirill Dzham aka KDDK who is known for blending the best pieces of hip-hop with EDM and who has accumulated an impressive amount of streams in such a short period of time. Lastly, and of course not least on this new track, is world famous Chicago rapper, G Herbo. A pioneer in modern hip-hop music with collaborations that would beat the best of them. The combined passion for music amongst these three artists is energizing and is evident in their hot new single, ‘Broken Wings‘.
On October 22nd, ARIA, KDDK and G Herbo released the poetic single ‘Broken Wings‘ via Effective Records which appears to give fans a closer look into the softer side of these artists. When asked about the song ARIA says, “I recorded my part on ‘Broken Wings’ before anyone really even knew what the song was going to be. Just watching the song come together in itself was an art to me. It went from being just a great verse and hook to a smash-hit of a song.” With a more emotive theme, this track features cunning lyricism and powerful soundscapes. KDDK says, “ It’s been a great pleasure to work on this project with ARIA and G Herbo! The pandemic taught us to work and collaborate despite distances and inconvenience and I think each take only gets better. Here’s our brand-new track as a result – we put our soul in it and I hope you guys will like it!”
Alongside the single release for, ARIA, KDDK and G Herbo released a custom lyric video for ‘Broken Wings‘. Professionally produced lyric videos are really useful for artists to showcase their music to fans and can really compliment a song release. One crucial feature to these videos are to establish a brand for an artist, an album or a song. The lyric video for ‘Broken Wings‘ is a great example of this. The visuals are immediately familiar to fans as it has taken direct inspiration from the single cover art which features part of a large wing filled with an orange and teal abstract design over a solid dark blue background. These ethereal ink blends are showcased in every scene of the lyric video inside wings of different shapes and sizes over the same background. Another cover art inspired custom feature in the video is the pair of small white wings. This simple design acts almost as a logo for the song and can be found in subtle placements throughout the video near lyric displays. The choice to use the same two fonts from the single cover was clever as they are easy to read and don’t distract too much from the empyreal visuals. Considering how poignant the hook is, I really enjoyed the slow movements of each scene, whether there is a slight rotation, a slow zoom or an illusive pan of the visuals, it lives in a dreamier space consistent with the song.
Another great feature of custom lyric videos is that it can visually represent the song without having to suffer the burden of filming a live action music video. There are a lot of elements to consider when producing a music video including cost, permits, scheduling and themes. In the case of ‘Broken Wings‘ ARIA, KDDK and G Herbo all collaborated during the pandemic and in different countries. With so many travel restrictions in place, it must’ve been virtually impossible to get together and film a video in time for this release. The choice to have a professionally produced lyric video was a fantastic substitution, if not even a better alternative.
Upcoming for new rapper ARIA, he is set to perform at this year’s virtual KYS Fest in November and continues to promote his new music including recent hit ‘Fashion Sense‘. Kingpin G Herbo is set to continue promoting new album ‘25‘ which includes collabs with Polo G, Gunna and 21 Savage. KDDK is also promoting his star studded tracks such as ‘Bam‘ where he collabs with the iconic producer, Imanbek.
Check out the stunning lyric video for ARIA, KDDK & G Herbo’s ‘Broken Wings‘ on YouTube here: