Left: 38 Spesh, courtesy of TCF Music Group. Right: Harry Fraud, courtesy of the artist.
38 Spesh has barely left the studio these past few years, but he’s generally been sitting behind the boards, separated by glass from those doing the rapping. That changed with September’s 7 Shots — a tight, eight-track tape with minimal features and maximal mic carnage from Spesh himself. And last Thursday (November 3), less than two months after that record’s arrival, the veteran Rochester rap mogul — the founder of Trust Comes First Music Group outside of his own musical endeavors — announced a forthcoming collaborative project called Beyond Belief with prolific Brooklyn producer Harry Fraud, sharing the news alongside lead single “Speshal,” featuring Stove God Cooks.
With the album due out in just 10 days (on November 18), Spesh and Fraud are premiering its second offering, “Band Of Brothers,” with The FADER. The new track features Buffalo’s Benny The Butcher and Jersey City’s Ransom. Each emcee takes a verse over Fraud’s woozy boom-bap beat, introduced by a “You’re a wizard, Harry” tag that hits a little different after Hagrid actor Robby Coltrane’s death last month. The song’s hooklessness allows them to flow into each other seamlessly, sounding like bona fide blood relations as they mourn the fallen.
“Band of Brothers” is a ‘speshal’ song (pun intended),” Fraud tells The FADER. “It sees three of the best lyricists in the game going back to back showing out. The beat came to be while Spesh and I were in the studio going through a bunch of records. When we heard the sample we both agreed it had to be flipped. I made sure to give the track some space drumwise so my bros could flex their muscles with a multitude of flows. The way they all threaded their verses together with a common theme on the last bar was Beyond Belief!”
“This song is notable for two reasons,” Spesh adds. “First off, me, Benny, and Ran have all lost blood brothers to street violence over the years, so even just the name ‘Band Of Brothers’ holds a lot of significance. Secondly, this is the first time the best emcees from both eras of the Trust movement have been on a track together.”
Listen to “Band Of Brothers,” exclusively on The FADER till midnight, below.
