Bass music maniac Hekler joins forces with beatmaker Glenwood! and L.A-based rapper KANIN on their flossed-out dubstep single “TILL I DIE” for Bassrush Records.
Las Vegas native Hekler is on another level. He’s been responsible for an onslaught of brain-blistering tracks that typically split the difference between jaw-grinding riddim, rage-fueled trap and hard-hitting hip-hop. The amalgamation of those three distinct influences have already left their mark on the Bassrush catalog across three separate appearances by him within the last half decade, and he’s about ready to unload another dose with his fourth single. This time around, Hekler is mobbing out with budding producer Glenwood! and Compton-raised hip-hop head KANIN on a triple-pronged track that’s all about racks, stacks, and never catching any flak. Burning with unbridled ambition, “Till I Die” gets its voracious energy from the effortless flows delivered by its silver-tongued lyricist, which finds KANIN spitting bars around his lavish lifestyle. Warbling basslines and thick kicks punctuate his sky-high aspirations, until his shameless self-boasting becomes magnified by the throbbing bottom-end and a wealth of womps that effectively puts the money where its mouth is.
Hekler and Glendwood! first came into contact after the former caught a glimpse of the Philly-born producer getting some serious shine from the Grammy-winning artist and producer Timbaland on one of his live streams from last year. The two artists chopped it up, and eventually agreed to rope in the latter’s regular partner-in-crime KANIN on a track that would encapsulate the endless grind of being an artist.
“He reached out to me to show love for my work on Timbaland’s ‘Beatclub’ stream,” explains Glenwood!. “I quickly became a fan of his as well after hearing record after record of incredible sound design, quirky drums, and atmosphere. We wanted to find a way to collaborate that would make us both excited to explore new territory. I proposed we work with my frequent collaborator, KANIN. We really aimed at making the track raw and epic. Sometimes, dance music can get lost in sound design and feel less ‘human’, but we managed to merge KANIN’s gritty tone with Hekler’s equally hard-hitting production.”
“Hekler is the truth,” adds KANIN. “Honestly, he reminds me a lot of myself. I remember after recording the initial idea for ‘Till I Die’ with my producer Glenwood!, it was only right for us to take a spontaneous trip from LA to Vegas and meet Hekler in person. After a long drive through the desert, we arrived at his studio. The first thing I noticed was his unique artwork on the walls. I asked about the paintings to find out he is a visual artist; just like him, I grew up with a passion for drawing and painting as another outlet for my expression.”
Lastly, Hekler shares his sentiments around the collab: “Initially, this record didn’t have a vocal on it but the moment I sent it to them, the ideas started flowing. ‘TILL I DIE,’ for me, represents that being a musician is everything and it’s what I’ll be doing till my last breath.”
Headstrong and always going hard in the paint, Hekler has been running with the Bassrush crew for more than four years. He originally sprouted up on the label back in 2018, linking up with the mighty MARAUDA on their creepy crawling collab aptly titled “Buggas.” Two years later, the low-end instigator came back to stir the pot with two follow-up releases a little more than one month apart, unloading his behemoth singles “Juggernaut” and the ethereal, boundary-pushing cut “Levitate,” respectively.
“TILL I DIE” is an anthem for ballers and shot callers everywhere—which is extremely fitting, because the three masterminds behind this dubstep and hip-hop hybrid are the living definition of that life.
