FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Extremely Rare: Witness History in Clams Casino's and Lil B's First-Ever Joint Video, "Witness"

Producer Keyboard Kid completes the Based trifecta for the track from Clams Casino's upcoming album, '32 Levels.'

Are there words for something this rare? Would it be an exaggeration to say that the entire course of internet history has been one long process leading us to this point? Absolutely not. This is why Al Gore invented that shit.

Clams Casino and Lil B made a video together. The song is called "Witness." Is it good? Obviously. To quote Lil B, the "only day we stop turning up is when we fucking drop."

Clams Casino and Lil B, of course, are longtime collaborators, deeply important to each other's careers. Clams produced early iconic Lil B cuts like "I'm God" and "Motivation," the former of which introduced us to the legendary Based God and also launched an entire subgenre of production based around sampling one Imogen Heap song. And more broadly speaking, those beats changed the fabric of hip-hop itself, pushing the genre toward a gauzier, more atmospheric sound. Soon, artists like A$AP Rocky and Mac Miller reached out to work with Clams and push his sound into the mainstream. Would artists like Rihanna and Travi$ Scott sound the way they do now if it weren't for Clams Casino's influence? I would venture to say no.

But Clams and B haven't worked as much together in recent years. Their last collaboration—as well as anyone, including Clams himself, can remember, although it's always hard to say with B—was "Unchain Me," of 2011's I'm Gay (I'm Happy). But now Clams Casino is preparing to release his new album, 32 Levels, and Lil B is on it. Clams told Noisey that the two spent three days in LA working together in person for the first time (all their previous collaborations had been over email), and one of the songs that emerged was "Witness," which also features go-to Lil B producer Keyboard Kid, who was coincidentally in town for a show while they were recording. The resulting collaboration has a beautiful video, directed by Lil B, which you can watch below, featuring an "extremely rare" appearance from Lil B himself.

Lil B, who is "famous like a rock star / respected like a rapper," spends time, as he raps, "feeling like the man, feeling like Diddy riding through the forest." He drops instantly legendary lines like "call me Rick Ross, Fredo Santana / yeah I got the hammer / yeah I'm Army strong with that pink bandana" and "shout out to France / shout out to Japan / everywhere I go they do the rain dance." He changes international politics. Meanwhile Clams lives in luxury and sips coffee in an expensive-ass house, and Keyboard Kid ruminates in nature. Can you believe it? You'd better. As Lil B raps, "it's all for real, bitch."

Follow Kyle Kramer on Twitter.