Alice Longyu Gao is a Chinese-born artist whose music generally fits into the hyperpop category only because it doesn’t make sense under any other genre. In the past, Gao has collaborated with artists like Mura Masa and Alice Glass. Next month, they’ll release a new mini-album called Assembling Symbols Into My Own Poetry, and they’ve already shared the singles “♡ Korean Girls,” “Detective Alice神探埃粒司,” and “Lesbians ♡.” Today, Gao has teamed up with Danny Brown on a new single that doesn’t sound like anything you might expect from either of these artists.

Earlier this year, Danny Brown went on tour behind his great 2023 album Quaranta, and Alice Longyu Gao opened some of his shows. Now, Gao and Brown have joined forces on the new single “Bird W/O Nest.” It’s basically a tender ballad, but it keeps changing moods and tones as it unfurls. The song starts out with Gao singing softly over strings and acoustic guitars, and then the synths well up, and boom, there’s Danny Brown rapping about mental health and getting his eagle on like Nelly.

Between this and his recent Frost Children collab, Danny Brown is making some fascinating moves right now. He’s also joining Knocked Loose for some shows on their upcoming tour! Fascinating guy! “Bird W/O Nest” is a cool song, and you can hear it below.

The self-released Assembling Symbols Into My Own Poetry is out 10/23, and the “Bird W/O Nest” video arrives later today.