Drake added some sauce to 4Btaz’s viral hit “act ii: date @ 8”. Kevin Bourne takes a closer look in his “act ii: date @ 8 remix” review.
Dallas artist, 4Batz, first turned heads last year with the oddly named soulful tracks “act i: stickerz ’99” and “act ii: date @ 8”, garnering praise from artists like Kanye West and SZA along the way. With over nine million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, over 100 million streams, and over 630K followers on Instagram, some are taking to the internet and social media to accuse him of being an industry plant. How else can you explain such a meteoric rise seemingly out of nowhere, right?
Perhaps it’s his team. According to Rolling Stone, his manager works at RCA and has worked with big artists like Gunna and Summer Walker, and big brands like McDonalds and Balenciaga. But is it that farfetched to think that his music is just that good? Over the past decade, labels have tried in vain to push artists, spending millions on marketing, to no avail. 4Batz must be doing something right.
For one, his sound deviates from the trends seen in music today. It’s timeless, And with voice manipulation and soulful production, his sound is one we haven’t heard since Kanye West’s early albums. Along with nods to the chopped and screwed sound made popular by fellow Texas native, the late DJ Screw, 4Batz has crafted a sound that stands out in the sometimes cookie cutter and unimaginative TikTok and sync era where artists are sometimes more concerned with creating viral hits or getting placements than innovating. 4Batz is a glaring example of what happens when artists get back to the art.
While, his unique sound has also landed him on the radar of Drake, who recently announced he’d be jumping on the remix of 4Batz’s viral hit “act ii: date @ 8”, artists like Blocboy JB show that an alley oop from Drake isn’t enough to guarantee success.
In the past, Drake has been accused of being a bit of a vulture and opportunist in collaborating with new artists on the rise and jumping on new waves as they arise. While I agree this is the case in some instances, Drake is also a fan of good music, and willing to collaborate with up and coming artists he’s a fan of, or even doing a cover of their songs.
In the case of the “act ii: date @ 8 remix”, Drake delivers a solid verse and vocals. Still, after a first listen, it feels as though something is missing. There are certain collaborations that immediately have high expectations and this is one of them. When listening to a remix, you’re listening for how the artists gel despite bringing different elements to the song. In that regard, at first listen, “act ii: date @ 8 remix” appears to lack cohesiveness between 4Batz and Drake, like it was just forced instead of sounding organic. Still, it’s a sonically pleasing song and disjointed feeling dissipates with each subsequent listen. Overall, with hip-hop and R&B feeling a bit stale as of late, both the original song and the remix are big steps forward for Black music.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 310 international voters for the 81st Golden Globe Awards by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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