World’s Fair – “Dundas Street West” (Feat. Nasty Nigel, Cody B. Ware, & Turnstile’s Freaky Franz)
Did you know Franz Lyons, the bass player in Baltimore hardcore heroes Turnstile, is also a rapper? Before Turnstile achieved their current status near the top of the modern hardcore scene, Freaky Franz was scoring local hip-hop hits in Columbus. As someone entrusted with covering the Columbus music scene back then, circa 2011 and 2012 I was writing about him a lot. (“Karl Malone,” his biggest song at the time, remains a personal favorite.)
I bring this up because Franz guests on a new song out today by the New York rap collective World’s Fair. “Dundas Street West,” which also features World’s Fair members Nasty Nigel and Cody B. Ware, is off the crew’s upcoming album New Lows, out next Friday on Fool’s Gold. It’s an exercise in ominously booming trap music, colored by eerie metallic synths and built around the hook, “I’m fly as hell and I’m high as hell.” The song comes highly recommended, especially if you’re missing the energy from the early days of A$AP Mob.
Listen below. And if you haven’t checked out Franz’s main gig, make sure to hear Turnstile’s recent Time & Space, which we named one of this year’s best albums so far.
New Lows is out 7/20 on Fool’s Gold.