It’s time for the next single to be drawn from the mighty Pan Amsterdam’s superb debut LP, The Pocket Watch, and this time around it’s all about the social commentary and what is apparently a bit of autobiography detailing rapper Leron Thomas’ bid to get started in the biz on Landlord Elijah. Adopting a world-weariness Donald Glover’s character Earn from Atlanta would recognise, Thomas regales us with stories of struggling to make ends meet whilst living in a skid-row apartment plagued by anti-social builders, no heating and the all-too-familiar unsympathetic landlord. It’s worse than that though – he has to take ‘English baths, damn we’re going under/ This is worse than when we had bedbugs last summer.’ English baths? Surely not the infamous ‘squaddie wash’? You’re lucky you got that Thomas – no-one bothers with those over here, it’s too far to go to the outside toilet which is the only place we have a sink. Especially after a heavy meal of coal. Still it’s not all bad news, “If it was already written, then shall I not have scorn?/ A jazz musician died, Pan Am was born.” Comes in original reflective jazzy beat flavour courtesy of thatmanmunkz and a ‘Mr Shn ‘Re-Do’ in a Dilla/ Flying Lotus stylee.
(Out 22 June on Def Presse)