Is hip-hop becoming the predominant form of DIY original music in Flagler County? It’s certainly starting to seem like it. The biggest names west of the beach waves are the likes of The Primetime Nino, HUAN, and Flo.wav, all of whom blend hip-hop into their own original sounds. The latter of that group is one of two local acts to drop new hip-hop releases over the past week. Flo.wav, alongside exciting newcomer Supachase, are the featured artists in this week’s edition of New Music.
“Kenny / Night Pimp”
First up on New Music Tuesday is Flo.wav, one of the longest-tenured and most celebrated of Flagler County’s original music acts. Flo.wav dropped their new singles “Kenny/Night Pimp” to YouTube Saturday morning. The video is fully animated, following in the footsteps of close friend and collaborator HUAN who released an animated video of his own back in February. The clip shows a cat-like character named Kenny walking across a beautifully painted pink city backdrop set to “Kenny”, the first section of the two-part video. Conor Bertha, one half of the Flo.wav duo, kicks the song to life with a fresh rap bar over the chill instrumental.
It’s right around the two-minute mark that “Kenny” transitions into “Night Pimp”. This second part of the video features Flo.wav’s other half, Dylan Parra, much more prominently than the first. The keyboard lead on “Night Pimp” comes across as immediately classic, channeling the late 60’s stylings of the Doors or the Moody Blues. Parra’s vocals present a smooth contrast to the rhythmic bars Bertha had spit on “Kenny”. This part of the video features a dashboard view of the lush animated cityscape.
The video’s animators are Briana Serna and Jason & Rachel Blankenship. Jason Blankenship is the owner and founder of Bad Cloud Media, the Flagler County area’s foremost music video production firm.
Better Late Than Never
Also releasing recently is Better Late Than Never, the third full length release by Palm Coast rapper Supachase. Supachase, otherwise known as Chase Hearn, is taking the world by storm at the young age of 16. Hearn has been playing relatively high-profile gigs around town since 2019, and has found himself instantly welcomed into a community of musicians who have been performing since he was in elementary school. Two of those musicians have been Bertha and Parra.
The biggest stage Supachase has taken thus far in his career has been Flo.wav Fest, a local music festival organized by the two Flo.wav members. Hearn performed at both the 2018 and 2019 editions. It’s fair to say he’d have probably been at the 2020 Fest too, but the yearly Flo.wav Fest was cancelled out of COVID-19 cautions.
The music on Better Late Than Never is a sound distinctly Chase’s. The instrumentals are mostly trap-based, but Chase finds a way to keep his style unique from the many others who rap over similar beats. Hearn’s vocals are low-register, delivered in a way that conveys attitude. Be on the lookout for Supachase to notch high-profile performance slots and collaborations in his next year or two on the Flagler scene.
