At the moment, West Coast rap exists in Kendrick Lamar's celestial shadow, but that doesn't mean Los Angeles isn't speckled with intriguing young voices putting their own twists on the genre. One of those voices is Wes Period, a young emcee who describes his aesthetic as "somewhere between 3 Ninjas, Trainspotting, and Good Burger." Back in 2011, he got blogs blogging when he dropped his Friendly Fire EP, and has been releasing new music sporadically ever since. The latest reminder that Wes Period is no joke is "Champagne Champion," a soulful party jam he wrote while drinking "Hood Mimosas" (a mix of Sunny Delight and Andre Champagne).
"It's a song for me, that beyond anything else, really just stands for having fun no matter the circumstance and believing that through positivity one day those circumstances will get better," he tells us. The video echoes that sentiment. Directed by Brecht Van’t Hof, it's a jagged, stripped-down take on the stereotypical rap video. There are no swimming pools and Spanish-style mansions in Wes Period's world, just grimy bathrooms and grafitti-scribbled lofts — although he does have a pretty fly leopard-print stretch limo. "I really did the rapper thing on this one and talked about some stuff that hadn't happen for me yet," he continues. "Since then — honest to God — everything in the song has come true, except for getting verified on Twitter. But I found out I just need another single on iTunes first. So shhhhhh, haters."
“Champagne Champion” is available now on iTunes and Amazon mp3 via Taste and Tone.
