Mykki Blanco has released their first new song of 2021, “Free Ride”. It marks the rapper’s debut on Transgressive Records. Watch the accompanying music video below.
“Free Ride” is co-produced by FaltyDL and Hudson Mohawke. Originally recorded in spring 2018, the song was set aside until the summer of 2020, when Mohawke added his contribution to the track. Carried by Blanco’s playful flow, the song combines elements of retro soul and trap sounds.
In a press statement, Blanco reflected on being inspired by the music on which they grew up:
“Some of the most intimate moments and conversations I have ever shared were with my mother on long drives in the Southern countryside when I was a teenager. The music that soundtracked these memories on our daily journeys was the stuff of my mother’s generation. I would find myself daydreaming, reflecting and envisioning the kind of life I would like to create for myself. These memories and the music of Luther Vandross were the first inspirations behind the creation of my new song ‘Free Ride’.”
Blanco elaborated on the meaning behind the Hannah Rosselin-directed music on social media. “With ‘Free Ride’ I wanted to portray the very real situation of two humans being in love and creating a child without necessarily being the same sexuality, but a love of acceptance, the love created by creating a family and accepting wherever your lover falls on the spectrum,” they explained.
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Prior to “Free Ride”, Blanco’s most recent song was their Devendra Banhart collaboration, “You Will Find It”, released in April 2020.
With “Free Ride” I wanted to portray the very real situation of two humans being in love and creating a child without necessarily being the same sexuality, but a love of acceptance, the love created by creating a family and accepting wherever your lover falls on the spectrum
— mykki blanco (@MykkiBlanco) March 16, 2021
