It’s clear that Dro Kenji doesn’t miss. After promising 2023 releases in “UDNTLUVME” and “ARSONIST,” the South Carolina crooner’s gearing up for his eighth project in three years, WISH YOU WERE HERE, with its presumed final single “OVER & OVER” (June 16).
“OVER & OVER” is Kenji’s most raw and emotive performance to date — utilizing a raspy vocal delivery rather than his typical smooth cadence. “I just hope you never throw my heart away,” he sings on the hook, continuing to trace a love-torn allure through every pocket of his discography. Navigating through the track’s acoustic guitar melodies and bouncy percussion, “OVER & OVER” finds the MiraTouch crooner caught in a destructive cycle of heartbreak.
Produced by Rio Levya, Nick Mira, Taz Taylor and other IM golden ears, he slips further into the grief-clad abyss the more he tries to escape it. “That’s just the other side, like who are you? I’ve seen you before / I got amnesia, my head hurts, and I’m falling on the floor,” he sings, as Kenji continues his quest of crafting “beautiful music” with his new album on the horizon. The visual, directed by Keaton Jones, depicts a mess inside Kenji’s head and house, as pink balloons act like an Easter egg in multiple scenes over a brooding yet iridescent pink sky. Cups, bottles and, admittedly, Kenji’s shattered heart scatter the floor, taking lines of fairy dust to numb the “amnesia” he’s feeling.
The Internet Money hitmaker has dominated the new wave with his brooding brand of emo-rap since the release of his debut EP, TEARS & PISTOLS, in 2020. WISH YOU WERE HERE will be Kenji’s first official project of 2023, as collaborations with E The Profit, Mike Dimes and others have filled in a rather quiet year from the 21-year-old Kenji.
Normally stringing together multiple full-length releases in a yearly fashion, it’s been over 10 months since his star-studded LP, ANYWHERE BUT HERE, dropped featuring close peers in DC The Don, KA$HDAMI, NoCap, Mike Dimes and midwxst — whom he went on tour with last year.
WISH YOU WERE HERE is expected to drop this summer, as we currently await its official announcement.
Listen to “OVER N OVER” below!
