Mykki Blanco releases their first new music of the year by way of “Free Ride,” a single co-produced by FaltyDL and Hudson Mohawke. The track, which was premiered by Annie Mac as her Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1, also marks Mykki’s debut with their new label home, Transgressive Records. 
It's been a decade since the moniker Mykki Blanco was created — first as a video art project on social media and then as a vehicle for self-discovery in the journey of forming their identity. In that time, they have pushed hip hop to some of its most untethered bounds, melding noise and experimental elements with club and trap sounds, whilst also forging a uniquely subversive path within a genre which had historically been very homopobic and transphobic. Today’s single ushers in a new era for the artist, a next phase which represents a significant evolution in the maturity and growth of their acumen in the craft of songwriting and musicianship.
The genesis of “Free Ride” dates back to Spring of 2018 during a few days of recording sessions in NYC. Mykki had just ended their first long-term relationship and the experience is reflected on the track’s refrain, “What I wouldn’t do for love.” And while the result was an early favorite among the new tracks, it was set aside until FaltyDL reached out to Hudson Mohawke to add their unique signature to it back in the summer of 2020. HudMo immediately dug in and gave “Free Ride” a whole new life adding his special touch that yielded what Mykki exuberantly described right away as a “perfect union” between what each of the producers bring to the table. The new version was immediately embraced by Mykki as the exact vibe they were seeking and they decided it had to be the song that would serve as the launching entry point to their next set of releases. Last month, they went back into the studio - this time at Falty’s newly built Falty Towers Studio in Brooklyn - to finalize some updates to the vocals. “Free Ride” was mixed by James Rand and features backing vocals by Grammy-nominated Mykal Kilgore as well as Leah King and L1ZY.
Of the track Mykki notes, "Some of the most intimate moments and conversations I have ever shared were with my mother on long drives in the Southern countryside when I was a teenager. The music that soundtracked these memories on our daily journey’s was the stuff of my mothers generation. I would find myself daydreaming, reflecting and envisioning the kind of life I would like to create for myself. These memories and the music of Luther Vandross were the first inspirations behind the creation of my new song “Free Ride”.
Find more info at mykkiblan.co.
