"This helps me bridge the gap between me being in my own world and the world that everybody else lives in." Allan Kingdom is trying to tap into something elusive. On his new song, "Glass Up," the St. Paul rapper teams up with Chicago producers Odd Couple--and the artists' movement Closed Sessions. The latter documents the song-making process in a short documentary video, from Allan trying to navigate producer-led studio sessions to figuring out which bars are too wordy, too melodic, too pointed. The end result is a warm, languid cut that traverses the 400 miles between the Midwestern cities with letters home and late-night text messages.

With last year's stellar Future Memoirs, Kingdom established himself as one of the brightest young talents in the Midwest, and hip-hop at large. Of late, he has been most notable as a member of St. Paul supergroup The Stand4rd, where he shares .WAV space with Psymun, Bobby Raps, and Corbin (formerly Spooky Black). The quartet's self-titled debut made waves online and throughout the country, setting the stage for a short tour that included sold-out dates on both coasts.

"Glass Up" leans on Kingdom's considerable vocal skills, with harmonized hooks and staccato verses. "The cops just rode by," he raps. "Like 'Who the hell knows why?'/ Move on to the next spot." This is as worry-free as you can get. Listen to the finished product below:

 

[Closed Sessions]

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