This Rap Song Is for Anyone Who’s Ever Had a Neighbor From Hell
On “Zugzwang,” underground rappers Miles Cooke and Defcee tell their building mates how they really feel.
Some of my favorite rap songs are so wildly specific they can’t help but feel universal. Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push” is about a kid who comes of age—finding a girlfriend, a crew, and a sense of identity—through the world of skateboarding. MF Doom’s verse on the Madvillainy standout “Operation: Lifesaver” weighs the pros and cons of asking an otherwise attractive date to use a damn breath mint. This is a tradition the New York rapper Miles Cooke has fit into before—many of his croaky baritone raps use self-deprecation, a thesaurus-bending vocabulary, and intricate rhyme schemes to exorcise demons from the corners of his mind. And on “Zugzwang,” a highlight from his latest album Ceci n’est pas un portrait, Cooke brings his acerbic eye to a situation many are familiar with: the blood-boiling hell of living in an apartment building.
