Will’s new single Staying Alive succeeds due to a melange of approaches and styles. This means that there are hints of scratching, Del the Funky Homosapien, and more than a fair shake of mid-1990s NYC hip-hop (e.g. Nas). Scratching represents a good portion of the interstitials between the vocalists’ bars, building off of the style of a Static Selektah. Incorporating guest bars laid down by Illogic to the track further firms up Staying Alive; the trio of creatives unite to make one of the most intricate and heady rap efforts we’ve heard in years. Standing up to repeat plays, Staying Alive will continue to yield new twists and turns even five or ten plays after the first.
Will – Staying Alive (feat. Illogic + Scratch Johnson) / Bandcamp /
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
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