My first encounter with Kari Faux was watching her perform during a very internet-focused party at South by Southwest, the kind of place where everyone is working hard to score a dope Vine and where everyone's default music taste involves lots of screwed down vocals. In that setting, Kari Faux cut through the haze with low-budget spectacle, ending her set alongside dancers blasting confetti cannons.It's little aesthetic details like those, that extra presentational edge, that make Kari stand out from the Tumblr masses. It's an edge she needs coming out of Little Rock, Arkansas, which is not traditionally much of a music industry hub. In the video for her single "No Small Talk," which Noisey is premiering above, throwback early 00s computer imagery offers a little extra pizzazz and a succinct thesis statement for what Kari is all about, with sidebars that read FLOSSY and BOSSY!!!Like her home state, Kari's sound falls somewhere in the space between Atlanta, Texas, and the middle of nowhere, coming across a little bit like what might happen if Lil B, Travis Porter, and Sasha Go Hard teamed up to make a UGK tribute. She rallies the twerkers to "make it bounce like spalding," juggles dudes with luxury cars in different states, and quotes Pimp C. The beat hits harder than any beat full of cell phone ringer samples has any right to. There's also this gem of a line about dealing with multiple phones and lame dudes: "three cell phones, and I still don't ever text him/ Catch me out in public, yeah you know I'm flexing.""No Small Talk" is witty (which, hell yeah, rap should be fun!), cool, and, most importantly, catchy as hell. If you can get the phrase "bitch I'm taking calls/ no small talk" out of your head after listening to this, you're a stronger person than I am. Keep your eyes peeled for more from Little Rock's finest, and check out more from Kari over on Soundcloud. Watch "No Small Talk" above.Kyle Kramer has only one cell phone and nobody ever calls him. He's on Twitter - @KyleKramer--Want more? Check these out:Tink: No Longer SugarcoatedFuck You, I'm From TexasA #Based History of the Entire World Shouting Out Lil B
Advertisement
Advertisement