Homeboy Sandman has been one of our favorite emcees for a minute. His work with eclectic Hip-Hopper Edan stretches all the way back to 2016’s Kindness for Weakness on the quirky track “Talking (Bleep)”. Their latest collaboration, en route to an entire album in October,  is the startling Grim Seasons.

The song begins in the biting cold of winter as Homeboy Sandman unravels the nature of life on planet earth and the harsh reality of the cold world. He segues from season to season, each with its own scathing commentary that essentially personifies each season as a character in his narrative.

Homeboy Sandman’s story-telling prowess is strengthened by the attached visuals, in cartoon form delivering a Trilight Zone/Hitchhiker/Black Mirror vibe that is both chilling and a breath of fresh air. Sand crafts imagery that you can see in your mind’s eye with mentions of “Puerto Ricans downstairs, drinking and smoking and cussing and fussing and fighting,” and a host of reference to urban grit and human relation.

Edan’s sonic backdrop features rich atmospheric accents that simmer to a slow boil around Sandman’s aural tapestry. The pace and rhythm remain constant, even as the beat switches by season. The winter is cold and plodding, trudging through a blizzard with gloveless, freezing hands.

The Spring warms with promise and a subtle but significant thump amidst brighter highs and whirling wonderland full of liveliness. Summer is colored with stabbing, pulsing distortion, finished of with combustible, electric guitar-fueled urgency. Fall mellows out with RZA/70’s strings and colorful pops of sounds analogous to falling leaves in the autumn breeze as life beings to drain from nature in a final blaze of glory.

Grim Seasons is a journey through the nature of life and all the foils that come when you aren’t focused on your destination. The video is hauntingly animated by Kaden McCloud. Be on the lookout for the album Humble Pi coming October 26, 2018.