Raz Simone Wants to “Slide” on You With New Track

Raz Simone unleashes a powerful new track called "Slide." The Seattle artist flows for nearly four minutes over hard-hitting production.

The West Coast artist raps about committing crimes with his friends. On the chorus, Raz spits, "I hop out with that shit / we don't drive-by, nigga / I do anything for them, 'cuz that's my niggas." On one of his verses, Raz rhymes, "My momma said just don't die / She knows that I'm in God's hands / She knows I don't slide unless I need to / She knows that it's bad."

Simone tells XXL that, despite the negative nature of his lyrics, there is something deeper, in his view, about committing these illegal acts with his boys. Raz states, "I wanted to capture the actual feeling. It sounds like a disgusting horrible thing, but in the moment, and in your mind at the time, it can be a very serene, spiritual exercise of fellowship."

He continues, "Sometimes there's fear, sometimes not. It's always intense, because so much is on the line (like your life and your freedom), and it's probably happening in the first place for 'good reason,' or vengeance of a prior death. So you have those emotions at play, also. I wanted to capture all these conflicting emotions in the production."

You can listen to the new record, produced by Simone and Paul Judge with additional violin by John Sinclair, above via SoundCloud. "Slide" is just a preview of what's to come for Raz. He's currently preparing the release of the lead single off his forthcoming project. If you want to hear more or Simone's recent music, check out his track "Afraid of Me" with K-Pop artist Jay Park, and listen to his record "Missing Joogs," which has a Kid Cudi vibe on the hook. For even more music and info on the up-and-coming MC, check out Raz' website.

10 Rappers With Hidden Talents