VIDEO PREMIERE: Boyfriend “UDONWANIT”

Boyfriend New Orleans rapper

Boyfriend

Boyfriend is back, and we’re all in trouble. Last May, she got down and dirty with an ode to digital stimulation, and the risqué rapstress has done it again. Teaming up with fellow New Orleans hornballs SexParty for “UDONWANIT,” the raucous bounce-tinged track taunts and tantalizes as only this pairing could.

This time around, Boyfriend’s shed some of her quirkiness for a little edge. Thudding beats and aggressive synths form the undulating backbone of the song, while vocals take on a gritty affect as verses alternate between Boyfriend and her bawdy pals. “SexParty typically has a punk edge to their music, and I was really excited about making something harsh, abrasive even,” Boyfriend says of the song. With the music itself echoing the antagonistic vibe of the lyrics, it was only natural they’d make a clip that matched.

“SexParty and I had this deal going where I’d direct their music videos and they’d produce my tracks. This is a glorious converging of those efforts,” Boyfriend explains, and the result is an Office Space homage with the feature-warping affects of Soundgarden’s iconic “Black Hole Sun” video. “I wanted the video to be visually assaulting, bright – as if we’d just quit our day jobs and headed off to exact revenge on these defunct machines that had us trapped. ‘UDONWANIT’ is an exercise in office catharsis.”

The video was edited by Caitlin Richard, whom Boyfriend has known since middle school. “We’ve been getting together and making weird videos ever since we got our periods,” she says. The track is the first from an EP slated for release sometime this fall, and Boyfriend will be taking the new material out on the road when she tours the Southeast in mid-November. In addition to more production from SexParty, the EP will feature a guest appearance from Phoenix metal-drummer-turned-female-rapper Miny.

Check out the video below, premiering exclusively on AudioFemme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh_sEoj1JpI&feature=youtu.be

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Boyfriend “Like My Hand Did”

Boyfriend New Orleans rapper

boyfrannnnnn

This is the way you’d imagine Tina Belcher growing up: she’s an elementary school teacher by day and a raunchy internet rap sensation by night, her inventive rhymes equal parts lewd and literate. Except this isn’t the plot of a long-lost Bob’s Burgers episode – it’s the true story of New Orleans performer Boyfriend, minting a new kind of hip-hop couched in satire, cabaret, and sex-positivity.

Dubbed the “rap game Bette Midler,” Boyfriend takes as many cues from Vaudeville vets as she does from Ke$ha and Kitty Pryde. Clever turns of phrase are as central to her appeal as her painstakingly thrifted wardrobe and Sally Jesse-esque eyewear. The nerdy aesthetic makes her feel somehow more accessible than other artists of her ilk; she owns her quirks rather than trying to come off as something she isn’t. Pushing that honesty to its most candid point, Boyfriend knowingly tackles topics ranging from period sex to masturbation to how to be Swanky on a budget, her wry tone akin to any Broad City punchline.

Boyfriend is known for her outrageous and stylish YouTube clips, a tradition that began with visuals she self-produced to herald the release of her debut EP I’m Your Boyfriend almost two years ago. “Like My Hand Did” is Boyfriend’s latest offering and it stays true to form, giving us lots to look forward to when her full length finally drops later this year. It’s a blistering kiss-off to a partner who failed to please, self-pleasure being preferable to his paltry efforts. The retro clip-art graphics and darker lyrics give the track a creepier vibe than we’ve seen from Boyfriend thus far, hinting that there’s some snarl behind her Granny-panties gimmick.