Auckland alternative hip-hop artist WHO SHOT SCOTT goes ballistic upon discovering a war between commerce and art in his new single.
Be warned: the first seconds of his riotous new song offer a sonic jump scare. WHO SHOT SCOTT hollers against conformism amidst guitars on high distortion and drums that pierce through the ears.
“I give my soul, they wanna edit it,” WHO SHOT SCOTT – aka Zaidoon Nasir – yowls in “THE DATA.”
It’s the second track from his next EP, BRAIN (SIDE B), where the Auckland producer and alternative hip-hop artist doesn’t hold back in calling for anti-conformism.
“I had one of the most soul-sucking experiences of my life earlier this year at a music seminar hosted by perhaps the biggest social media company in the world. The whole event kept pushing a false narrative that they were there to help artists, when in reality, there was a clear self-serving agenda to keep us in the grips of their business-first, art-second mentality,” he shares.
“When I got back home I couldn’t stop thinking about just how ruthless and nonchalant the whole thing was. It made me sick to think that there are so many artists that compromise their vision in an attempt to please social media companies or people attached to them from a business sense in order to try and be sustainable. This song is my ‘f*** you’ to the conformity.”
Fittingly for his irate mood, WHO SHOT SCOTT tosses items around and makes a fuss in a bedroom in the accompanying music video. Posters rip from the walls and speakers dent inwards as WHO SHOT SCOTT wields a baseball bat.
The music video eventually rewinds back to a moment of calm in bed. Can our star get back to sleep? That remains to be seen. You can watch the clip, directed by Connor Pritchard, above.
WHO SHOT SCOTT’s “THE DATA” is out now.
