{"id":488456,"date":"2019-07-26T11:06:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T17:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=862527"},"modified":"2019-07-26T11:06:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T17:06:56","slug":"kota-the-friends-sedona-is-the-soundtrack-for-new-york-citys-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/kota-the-friends-sedona-is-the-soundtrack-for-new-york-citys-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Kota The Friend\u2019s \u2018Sedona\u2019 is the Soundtrack for New York City\u2019s Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rap\u2019s biggest commercial asset of the year has been broad, virality-prone comedy. If a rapper isn\u2019t impersonating one of the most infamous label bosses<\/a> in the genre\u2019s history, singing about about horses and hot-pressed sandwiches<\/a>, or pandering to TikTok, the song is likely a tree falling in a very empty streaming forest. \u201cSedona,\u201d a new track by Kota The Friend,<\/a> is the mellow antidote to the surrounding pandemonium, with a tranquil video aptly shot in the desert of Sedona, Arizona.<\/p>\n

As Kota sways around dry shrubs and red mountains, he muses about death (\u201cHonestly, I\u2019d rather if I died alone\u201d), anxiety (\u201cAlways see me smiling but I\u2019m hella overwhelmed\u201d), and loneliness (\u201cI\u2019m probably die single \u2019cause I need my fucking space\u201d). The melancholy of Kota\u2019s direct lyrics cuts through the laid-back beat, which samples Bad Bunny, \u00d1ejo, and Pj Sin Suela\u2019s \u201c\u00bfCual es tu plan?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The chill loneliness of \u201cSedona\u201d makes it perfect post-apocalypse survival music \u2014 the soundtrack to the bucolic aftermath of societal destruction. The New York rapper\u2019s yellow raincoat and toy boat read as nods to the problems of his hometown \u2014 NYC\u2019s crumbling subway infrastructure, heatwave-induced blackouts, and sewage-flooded neighborhoods \u2014 and make \u201cSedona\u201d feel like a \u201cWish you were here postcard\u201d mailed to the city Kota momentarily escaped for the desert.<\/p>\n