Raw Drive- The Vice President of Soul

Bigg Jus triumphantly returns with “Black Roses” an aggressive and menacing single that puts his lyrical incisiveness front and center as he rails against wealth, power, and oppression with the trademark flow that has made him a legend of the underground rap game. Like Machines That Make Civilizations Fun, the album from which it is culled, “Black Roses” is free-flowing and forceful. On top of a down-and-dirty horn loop, Bigg Jus intensely spits lines with “the audacity of a pitbull fucking a hippopotamus.” The single comes with two remixes, including the first studio collaboration between Jus and El-P since the work of their pioneering group Company Flow. Recorded in New York during 2011’s record-breaking heatwave, the remix maintains the track’s ferocity while turning Jus’ imagery of “black roses on your casket” into a refrain. Created in Los Angeles, on a beautiful 80 degree day, Thavius Beck’s version tempers the frenzy of the original using ominous synth pads that could be from a horror movie soundtrack. After being silent for too long, this single announces that Bigg Jus is back with an iconoclastic masterpiece of intelligent, abstract hip-hop.