King Naj – “Lennon vs McCartney” feat. Heartbreak Julio
As spring starts to finally show face, we have some fresh drops sprouting in the mix. Charleston artist King Naj brings the month to a close with the surprise release of his single “Lennon vs McCartney” featuring Heartbreak Julio of Queens, NY. This is a single release to get the people prepared for his upcoming album, Don’t F*** This Up.
King Naj is a member of BDMR (Blue Diamond Mafia Records), a rising conglomerate of artists, producers, models, etc. spearheaded by Diamond Bei. I’ve watched King Naj grow into the scene and begin to spread his wings with everything from performances at 787 Bar & Grill to dropping his debut album While You Wait that released in 2022. I always admire bar heavy, fun flowing, wordplay and unique styles, King Naj and Heartbreak Julio displayed those attributes with ease.
No hook, fun 70’s grooves produced by Stress Fracture, and two well executed verses, crafted together to make a dope collaboration. King Naj never sells us short on the punchlines and clever wordplay. I can tell the collaborative effort with Heartbreak Julio, who is also quite the lyricist, challenged King Naj to put that pen to work!
This is evident in bars like “All smiles life is hella straight/ the illest on this side of Ashley Phosphate/ that don’t fear none, much less intimidate/ the homies draw tools, we like to say illustrate/ so far ahead of my time/ ya fast forward to me, is just a rewind/ they say ya makin’ progress, to me is a decline..” from King Naj.
Heartbreak Julio follows up King Naj’s verse in classic New York Fashion. Coming with that reletenless Westside Gunn, ‘Griselda’-esque style, Heartbreak Julio slides over this bright instrumental with bars like: “Put this verse in a pot, it started rocking up/ free my dawg, im still pissed that they locked him up/ they use other escapes, I rather the herb/ my white boy a legend with the green like Larry Bird/ in my brain slow singing to the symphony, of madness/ go together like sympathy and sadness.”
All in all, “Lennon vs McCartney” is a high energy production with a nostalgic ‘Motown’ sound mixed with ‘golden era of hip hop’ lyricism. Both King Naj and Heartbreak Julio delivered on this #GxldApproved collaboration. Check out King Naj and stay tuned for his upcoming album Don’t F*** This Up coming this summer!
Final note: King Naj and BDMR recently lost a founding member of their label, Jakk Frost. Keep them in your minds and hearts as they process and move through this tough time.