New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Patrick Paige II pumps a flex on "Big Plays" ft. Westside McFly, the latest single from his upcoming album, If I Fail Are We Still Cool?, out May 21st on Fat Possum. Another reason to flex -
Annie Mac just chose the single as her Hottest Record in the World, the second one already for Patrick this year. Earlier singles from the album include "So They Say" and "Whisper (Want My Luv)" ft. Steve Lacy, Allen Love, and Durand Bernarr.
Gearing up for money moves acts as the driving force behind "Big Plays." With their pockets going from
Wiz Khalifa to Rick Ross, Patrick and
McFly know they need to keep the energy high. Gassing themselves up on their verses gives them the fuel to burst on the chorus, a rousing victory lap set over a humble yet driving beat. The visuals, set in sunny Los Angeles, lets Patrick show off his newfound strength. He pulls luxury cars on his backside and thrusts barbells into the air one-handed, physical demonstrations of the many feats he's now capable of.
"'Big Plays' pretty much speaks for itself," Patrick shares. "'Big plays boss moves' is the energy of the song and the energy I've carried and continue to carry making and this entire album. One of the strongest and one of my favorite affirmations on the album."
The high life and the risks of falling run through If I Fail..., an ode to Patrick's climb in the music industry. Runways, both airline and fashion, appear in his verses, which reveal the anxiety that runs beneath all this success. "Try to count my blessings / I just count mistakes" he raps, acutely aware that the higher you go the further you can fall. Can you blame him for asking for forgiveness in advance? Though based on the reception of the singles so far, a Pitchfork's Rap Song of the Day designation as well as another
Annie Mac's Hottest Record selection, failure seems impossible for Patrick at this point.
As a member of The Internet, Patrick Paige II played a major part in shaping the sound of the 2010s. Thanks to his bass talents, albums like Ego Death (2015) and Hive Mind (2018) landed on numerous year-end lists, accolades that greatly impacted Paige's own artistry. During the past decade, Paige saw his own interests and sound shift towards exciting new directions. His solo work began with an instrumental release in December 2015, but his major shift and breakthrough happened with Letters of Irrelevance (2018), which saw the bassist incorporating his own vocals into his music. The album garnered attention from Pitchfork and DJBooth, but more importantly, it helped solidify Paige's confidence in his newfound voice. "I never trusted myself to write hooks, but once I wrote that, it was like,' oh s, I can do this - I'm done pretending like I can't," he says of his new single "So They Say," the start of his latest creative journey into the new year. Now, with If I Fail Are We Still Cool, Patrick sets out to prove his detractors, including himself, dead wrong.
