NITES Metamorphosis ft. Najee Amaranth

NITES new single “Metamorphosis” ft. Najee Amaranth OUT NOW.

by Walter Price

Just as I thought I knew what Adam Brookes (Dangermaker) was about he releases a new project NITES and a fresh new single “Metamorphosis” ft. Najee Amaranth (The Oakland Mind). In thoughts reminiscent of 1980’s retro synth pop, à la Camouflage or New Order with a heavy dose of current Oakland hip-hop, the track is surprising.  Brookes has done something seemingly more stripped down from what Dangermaker has accomplished and has proven, once again, his powers as a creator.  The inclusion of Najee Amaranth was a stroke of genius. I would love to hear this collaboration continue.

I asked Brookes about the new project and their current single,

“These new songs I’m working on for Nites are much more minimal, electronic & hip-hop based than I’m used to, mostly using just an 808, 909 and synths to write with. I first experimented with this approach composing some instrumental electronic music for The North Face a year or so ago that they ended up using in some of their videos. It made me realize I was neglecting a life-long part of myself that was born and raised around urban culture and loved Hip-Hop and Electronic music just as much as Rock, Pop or anything else. I think I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable letting that side show, it’s so easy to do it wrong and look like a fool, especially if you don’t fit the typical Hip-Hop image. However a lot of musical & cultural barriers have come down and blurred these days, so I’m trying to let the songs go where they should, rather than force-fitting everything into one box.

“The first track I just released, Metamorphosis, was inspired by drastic change, first in the SF Bay Area specifically and more recently beyond. I’d describe the feeling as looking around and realizing so much has changed so fast, but you haven’t and you don’t necessarily like it. I simplified the lyrical concept down to just the choruses really and left the verses completely open as they called for rapping not singing. I know my limit, and it is rapping, so I realized I knew quite a few undiscovered Bay Area rappers I could feature, and I’ve checked out some new ones since. I thought Najee Amaranth of The Oakland Mind would fit the vibe well, and he really did.”

to be continued…