James Blake – “Life Round Here (Remix Feat. Chance The Rapper)” (Alternate Version)
Last fall, London’s moody post-dubstep pop wunderkind James Blake and Chicago’s kinetic post-everything rap wunderkind Chance The Rapper teamed up for a remix of Blake’s “Life Round Here,” and it was one of the best pieces of music to emerge all year. Since then, the pair has shacked up in Los Angeles and is allegedly working on a full album together, which is just splendid. We’ve yet to hear any of the fruits of that labor, but in the meantime, yesterday Chance tweeted a link to an alternate version of the “Life Round Here (Remix).” It’s called “Save Yourself First,” and it tends toward the warmer, more soulful tones of Chance’s Acid Rap. Per Chance’s tweet, “this was the og idea for me and james’ first collaboration,” and the SoundCloud description explains, “James never liked this vers.” Blake doth protest too much; although it’s no match for the version that eventually did come out, this is still lovely and fascinating in its own right. Listen below.
That James/Chance album is coming out… when?