Song of the Day: El Michels Affair & Black Thought - Glorious Game

El Michels Affair & Black Thought treat us to an unstoppable new 45. Pulling two standout tunes from their forthcoming Glorious Game record. The vinyl single will be available at all finer record stores worldwide March 17th, and the full album April 14th via Big Crown Records.

The A side features the album’s title track Glorious Game, a bouncy, in-pocket tune that lands somewhere between G Funk and Outkast’s Spottieottiedopealicious. Black Thought raps about trials of fame and respect but also being the best version of oneself while balanced by patience. KIRBY jumps in on the chorus with her distinct voice and luscious melodies putting the song comfortably at home in the speakers of a Cadillac. Glorious Game with its unhurried bassline and bouncing drum track finds Black Thought rhyming double-time about the trials of fame and respect but also speaking to his gifts and his well-established place in hip-hop.

Listen to El Michels Affair & Black Thought new single Glorious Game, the title track from the project's new album:

The B Side Grateful is a thick, low-end banger with a haunting flute line, and a sample of Shabba Ranks Ting-A-Ling that sends the message that class is in session. Black Thought's verses lay heavy in the way we've come to love: cadences that walk a line between street teacher and poet, explanation and experience. He pays homage to what's come before him and how it's made him with lines like I guess the moral of the story is, any sip you pour me is, a toast to the warriors who bit the dust before me, kid. Die-hard fans may also recognize the instrumental from the late great Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton 2022 Fashion Show video.

Black Thought says about Glorious Game, To me, these songs are like scenes from a film that is my life. That's the way it evolved." And with his pure lyrical skill on full display and Michels' custom-made approach to making beats, this record is a bit of a rarity in today's hip-hop atmosphere: there are no flashy guest features and no attempts to be on trend. "This is an effing rap record. He's a storyteller; the point is to listen to the story. It's not a verse-chorus, verse-chorus approach. Listen to what he has to say and the way he has to say it.

Watch the below video for El Michels Affair & Black Thought new single Glorious Game, the title track from the project's new album: