When we last wrote about Bo & Airo, we were introducing you to the dynamic hip-hop duo consisting of bass prince Bo Triplex (Bo Triplex And His Beautiful Band, New Age Narcissism) and drummer/rapper Airo Kwil (Will Rose of D’Amato and Abby Jeanne) by way of the pun-born project’s blaring “Sirens” music video. Since that video’s February release, Bo & Airo has been hard at work to prove it’s more than just well-executed wordplay. The rhythm section-turned-rappers went Beathouse Studios and Silver City Studios to record a total of five tracks with Dan Frankel and Josh Evert, then have Matt Gorski master them. That quintet of songs accounts for the outfit’s first proper release, I.
“4GLDK9$”—Bo & Airo’s first single since “Sirens”—finds the project they call “directly aggressive hip-hop” at its cockiest and most confrontational yet. The braggadocio of the song is backed with the stripped-down thumps and sharp clang of cymbals that are played by the rappers themselves. The bassist and drummer’s man-made accompaniment proves to be just as raw and commanding as the lyrical content. “We approached the project under the loose intention of ‘going hard,’ both lyrically and musically,” Bo & Airo tells us. “Whatever that meant, we aimed to do it.”
Before Bo & Airo releases I at Company Brewing on Friday, September 29, listen to “4GLDK9$” now, only at Milwaukee Record.