Donning a green skinned alter-ego and  shedding any intent of appealing to conventional rap audiences, BGourd has morphed to become the most exciting anomaly within Singapore’s rap sphere. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the project has been the rapper’s uncompromising, experimental spirit. With each volume of his planned series of four Veggie Wraps EPs pairing him up with a fresh producer, the green miracle constantly challenges himself with his tag teams, as he adapts and evolves with his partners.

His first two efforts displayed that very versatility, as he took on eclectic directions with respected experts of their craft. On his debut, he took on deep house-flavoured boom bap courtesy of beatmaker Halal Sol. With Volume 2, he switched gears, embracing the freeform work of experimental maestro Fauxe -  who helmed co-writing and production duties.

Volume 3, however, has BGourd pairing up with a relative newcomer: Beansprouts, his brother and other-half of twitch stream DJ duo Lim Bros Travel. Yet despite being Beansprouts’ debut, it’s a pairing that feels utterly natural, conjuring a quirky but unique chemistry – and if lead single Whack is any indication of the direction the Lim Bros are taking BGourd’s sound, their EP could open up a whole new world of exciting, genre-bending possibilities. 

The track begins with percussive, chopped-up drum samples into sparse and saturated keys, setting the stage for the track’s raw, punkish energy. “The whole world right in front of me/ The whole world right in my palms,” he sings on the hook. As the track’s verses begin with the rapper’s exclamations (“Off key!/ Off white!/ Blue hues!”), it finds a pummelling groove of bass guitars and live drums – a palette drawing much more from post-punk or indie rock palettes rather than anything traditionally hip-hop. Vocally, BGourd matches the track perfectly, oozing personality with the organic cracks and inflections that colour his verses. The result is a visceral experience that challenges and subverts expectations of what hip-hop in Singapore can and should be.

Whack is a far cry from BGourd’s previous releases, and an even wilder left-field foray compared to anything else Singaporean rap has to offer. But it’s a genre-bending experiment that works with its infectious energy that is more than enough to convince even the biggest naysayers. It’s never overtly abrasive – and by the time its hook comes back a second time around and everything comes to a close, I’m sure even head-scratching skeptics will be curious to hear what else this dynamic vegetable duo has to offer.

BGourd’s Veggie Wraps Vol.2 was our second best Singaporean release of 2020, check out our full Top 20 Singaporean Releases of 2020 list.

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