San Jose rapper Antwon has been getting a lot of attention lately. In February, he released his video “Helicopter,” which has becoming the subject of many blogs. The video mixes footage from Steve McQueen’s 1968 car chase flick Bullitt with shots of Antwon and his crew wandering around train tracks, drinking malt liquor and eating heaping platefuls of food (color-corrected, of course, to match the 1968 footage).
The video has received favorable writeups from several blogs, including on Spin’s website where Helicopter was called “an early candidate for video of the year.” Yes, the video is good, but it’s backed up by a killer song too. Antwon has a laid-back, easy flow reminiscent of Biggy Smalls. But he’s not taking himself seriously. He’ll string together a single sentence about smoking weed and eating too much food that is neither comedic nor pretentious. The driving, shuffling funk-beat and blaring dissonant organ loop sound like they were plucked right out of a 70s grindhouse movie. Keep your eye on Antwon. This is where rap is heading.
