For years now, Beast Coast has existed mostly as a name that people sometimes yell on record or onstage. (For the record, it's not Best Coast. That's something else.) Beast Coast is a loose conglomeration of three different internet-beloved underground New York rap groups: Flatbush Zombies, the Underachievers, Joey Bada$$'s Pro Era crew. In different combinations, they've toured together or shown up on each other's records. But now they've come together as a cohesive group, and it's a hell of a thing to witness.
Last month, Beast Coast united as one singular entity to release the furious, chaotic, generally excellent posse cut "Left Hand," a song that gives all nine rappers a chance to make impacts. And it seems like there's more on the way, since Beast Coast are playing a whole mess of this summer's big festivals. Last night, they gave a quick glimpse of what that might look like, performing "Left Hand" as a group on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. It was great.
Here's a great example of a well-staged late-night performance. The stage is made up to look like a torn-apart street corner, and it starts out with Flatbush Zombie Meechy Darko -- in a leather vest and leather pants -- onstage with a DJ, roaring out the hook. One by one, the different Beast Coast members leap onstage just in time to do their verses. Most of them are in some version of all-black apocalypse gear. (Shout out to CJ Fly's Blade-looking duster.) Through the song, there are some loose bits of choreography -- everybody huddling up, everybody crouching low -- but a chaotic energy still courses all through it. It's the sort of thing that will get you fired up to see on a stage somewhere this summer. Check it out below.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wF3JLBqhafA
"Left Hand" is out now on the streaming services. Fingers crossed for more songs like that.
