Quality Control rapper Jayaire Woods goes straight for the gut with "2 Shoes," an early standout off of his recent Trees4Tomorrow mixtape. Marble-mouthed but melodic, he sing-raps—about the loss of his brother, dreams he kept secret, self-medicating with weed and music, and whatever tomorrow may bring—so hard you can almost hear the spit that's being heaved out with each word. Mad feelings, good kid, he concludes.
"2 shoes," Woods explained in an email to The FADER, "is glorifying the goodie goodie role I've played my whole life. Regardless, everybody get into some fucked up shit but I always had my own ideas on right from wrong. R.I.P my brother Vert."
In this new accompanying video, Woods returns to his his old stomping grounds in the greater Chicago area. "Backstory for the video is a lotta the people I grew up with supported and showed up and had fun," he wrote. "Bellwood aka Woodside play a big part in raising me."
It looks cold there, but he's got a nice, warm smile. Watch the video above; listen to Trees4Tomorrow below.