Arson Banx Drops “IDGAF”

While a lot of rappers are content to structure tracks centering exclusively on the dominance of a vocal part, Arson Banx has a different way of going about things. In his new single “IDGAF,” Banx is establishing himself as a craftsman with the beat, carefully building an inelegant beat that challenges his verse rather than simply backing it up, as the conventional recipe would call for. The studio sessions Going Crazy is coming out of must have been especially experimental for this player because from my perspective, he sounds like he’s turning a corner with this lead single. 

The pace of “IDGAF” is deliberately made to provoke tension, and although I think there’s been a lot of similar schemes employed by other rappers and trap artists in the past couple of years, this doesn’t feel nearly as surreal from an aesthetical perspective. On the contrary, everything about Banx’s execution suggests that he wants to be straightforward and commanding with his cut in this piece, which is quite different from the almost neo-psychedelic angle that a lot of his contemporaries both in and outside of the hip-hop community have been utilizing in their work in recent times. 

Rhythm isn’t responsible for shaping the tone of these verses, but instead breaking up the narrative with a bit of edginess that wouldn’t be here otherwise. It might be the standard to go with something a little more groove-heavy in the mainstream, but there’s nothing about “IDGAF” that makes me believe Arson Banx is jonesing for the approval of critics beyond the indie press. If he can impress the audience, that’s the key thing in this performance, and I get the idea that he’s far more concerned with keeping the fans happy than he is anyone on the establishment side of this business. 

Banx’s music video for “IDGAF” is simple, clean-cut, and lacking in excess filler, collectively making for one of the more focused looks I’ve seen from anyone in the underground lately. He doesn’t have time for the big props that some of his rivals would just as soon be looking to craft a whole video around but instead wants to get down to the meat and potatoes of the music right out of the gate. Even his harshest critics have to give him some credit for that, especially given how little dedication we’re seeing from some of the major label names making waves this late winter. 

I’m very intrigued by what Arson Banx and Ceefa are bringing to the table in 2022, and if this is just a preview of what we’re going to be hearing in his next LP, Banx is in for quite the thrill ride from here to the top of the game. He’s hitting it hard in this piece, and while there are a lot of credible artists trying to make something of themselves off of the same kind of blueprint he’s using in this single, I can’t say I’ve heard anyone with the same kind of charm this man produces from one song to the next. 

Garth Thomas