What’s better than discovering an exciting new hip-hop artist? How about finding out that that artist is part of a crew of talented vocalists? F$O Dinero turned heads last year with the brash “Blue Bills,” a ridiculously catchy burner with a thumping beat. Now, he’s back with friends. He’s brought along two more members of the F$O Clan (that’s “fly $hit only,” in case you couldn’t tell) for “Yaw Yaw,” the slinky follow-up to his regional hit. F$O Ka$h, who teamed with Dinero on the swaggering “Voss” single in late 2018, contributes rhymes, as does F$O Sauce, with the hard-hitting “Gang $hit” and “Mopsticks.” On “Yaw Yaw,” Dinero is the featured attraction, but his mates get plenty of microphone time, too. Think of “Yaw Yaw” as a coming-out for the entire Clan – a showcase of their complementary skills and the near-telepathic connection they’ve cultivated over the past twelve months making music together.
And there’s more to the F$O crew than Dinero, Kash, and Sauce – there’s also F$O Pete, who burned up the Internet in November with the moody single “No Cap.” Pete isn’t on “Yaw Yaw,” but the beauty of the Clan is that he may as well be: these artists share an aesthetic, an outlook, an impeccable sense of rhythm and flow and a handy way with a hook. They stick together, and they roll with force.
This explosion of young talent comes from Broward County, the grittier northern neighbor of Miami-Dade. Broward isn’t the flashiest place in Florida, but it’s got its own pace and its own attitude – and now, with the rise of the F$O crew, it’s got its own distinctive sound, too.
The “Yaw Yaw” clip catches Dinero, Ka$h, and Sauce miles away from home: they dance, rap, sing, and strut on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Director Daydream Visuals shows us plenty of spontaneous celebration, steps in loose formation, and wild, youthful energy – everything that “Yaw Yaw,” with its rapid-fire verses and skittering trap drums, implies to listeners. But the F$O crew have some visual tricks up their sleeves too. White lines like bolts of lightning flash above the rappers’ heads, vocalists emerge from hidden doorways and quickly disappear, and shadows are outlined in electric yellow. These effects are so seamlessly integrated into the clip that you might not even realize they’re present. They’re there to let you know: magic undergirds everything that these artists do.
