Danger Mouse and Black Thought have shared “Aquamarine” as the latest preview of their upcoming album, Cheat Codes. This time, they’ve enlisted Michael Kiwanuka for an assist. Check out the single below.
Black Thought spits rapid-fire commentary on human evolution over rolling percussion in “Aquamarine,” while in the hook, Kiwanuka offers a slower, more ominous warning: “Everything’s burning down.” The soul singer discussed his collaboration with Danger Mouse and Black Thought in a statement, explaining, “For ‘Aquamarine,’ when I heard the music I just had a feeling to sing about standing up for something that’s unique and following that path. I don’t know why but that’s what came out. Sometimes when you’re following something that’s unique to you it’s as if ‘enemies are all around.’ At times life can feel fragile like ‘everything’s burning down.’ For some reason the chords and music made me feel that way.”
“Aquamarine” is the third single from Cheat Codes, which arrives in full on August 12th (pre-orders are ongoing). So far, Danger Mouse and Black Thought have previewed the album with “No Gold Teeth” and “Because” — the latter of which featuring Joey Bada$$, Russ, and Dylan Cartlidge.
Even outside their upcoming hip-hop album, Danger Mouse and Black Thought have stayed busy. Danger Mouse recently reunited with The Shins’ James Mercer to bring back their side project Broken Bells, announcing the new album INTO THE BLUE with the song “We’re Not in Orbit Yet…” Meanwhile, Black Thought and his Roots bandmate Questlove have teamed up with Mick Jagger to produce a documentary about James Brown.
