St. Louis rap-crooner Smino lends a spacey verse to “Louie Bag,” the latest single from Arkansas singer Yebba. The song, a thoughtful, downtempo trip down memory lane, employs a washed-out beat evocative of early Radiohead, while the similarly nostalgic video makes use of home videos of a young Yebba to track her growth from being a child in West Memphis to her current status as a simmering underground star. Smino’s verse picks up the narrative threads to offer further perspective, contrasting expectations with reality and counting his blessings.
Along with Yebba’s “October Sky” and “The Past And Pending,” as well as Lucky Daye’s “How Much Can A Heart Take,” “Louie Bag” constitutes something of a comeback for Yebba, who until now could count the high points of her career as a handful of collabs with high-profile partners like Ed Sheeran (“Best Part Of Me“) and Mark Ronson (“Don’t Leave Me Lonely“) in 2019.
Likewise, Smino is working on a resurgence of his own after securing release from his label, dropping “Rice & Gravy” in May and collaborating with longtime friends and peers like Denzel Curry (his cousin), JID, and more. With his newfound creative freedom, expect to hear more from him soon.
Watch Yebba’s “Louie Bag” video featuring Smino above.