Sleepy Hallow delivered another reminder of his status as one of Brooklyn Drill’s foremost pioneers on Friday (Nov. 4) — sharing the animated visual for his new single, “Marie.”
Despite apparently being behind bars (noted by the “Free Me” in his bio and social media posts), Sleepy has outdone himself once again. The new single puts his unique flows and melodic baritone on full display with a light and catchy love song about a hypothetical romantic interest named “Marie.” With it comes an impressively detailed animated music video that by the end feels more like a full-blown anime short film starring Sleepy Hallow.
As he’s come to be known for, “Marie” makes full use of Sleepy’s iconic vocal and penchant for catchy, surprisingly gentle melodies as he calmly glides over stripped-down acoustic production from his go-to behind the boards, Great John.
While Sleepy tells the story of Marie with his signature simple yet cleverly written bars, fans watch the story play out in a remarkably vivid anime-style visual. Directed by Tristan Zammit and Kirby “Kurve” Esquea, the animated music video not only makes the most of Sleepy’s current absence, it perfectly matches the tone of the song and builds on the futuristic, purple-tinted world from previous visuals.
The catchy melodic flows and straightforward production on “Marie” are a great example of Sleepy’s unique sound and forward-thinking approach to the Brooklyn Drill sound responsible for turning him and right-hand man Sheff G into two of the NYC subgenre’s biggest stars. After Sheff initially hit the map with the iconic NY drill classic “No Suburban,” the pair really hit their stride after settling into their uniquely chill drill style with early breakout hits like “Flows” and “Breakin Bad” or Sleepy’s rather unorthodox sleeper hit “Deep End Freestyle.”
Almost always produced by Great John, who deserves every ounce of credit for his role in crafting their unique sound, over the last several years they’ve overcome nearly constant adversity to successfully repeat the formula countless times – from joint tracks like “Molly” and “Weight On Me,” to Sleepy’s runaway hit “2055” or recent collab with 347Aidan “Die Young,” just to name a few.
Despite facing their fair share of adversity, Sleepy Hallow and Sheff G are undoubtedly two of the biggest stars to emerge from Brooklyn in recent years who no doubt would find themselves on a list of the founding fathers of drill alongside legendary names like Pop Smoke and Fivio Foreign. “Marie” is just the latest example of Sleepy’s genre-defining talent and hustle, dropping a polished single and top-notch visual even from behind bars.
Watch Sleepy Hallow’s “Marie” below
