Fresh Da Zoe – ‘No Sleep’

Born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, but now in the US, Fresh Da Zoe doesn’t sound particularly menacing, or angry, or secretive on his new single, ‘No Sleep’. But with lyrics like, “If I want you dead, you won’t hear about it,” making the boast point-blank, almost cheerfully, utterly confident about his ability to eliminate rivals without breaking a sweat: that’s probably more frightening. He’s effortlessly lethal, yet at the same time he’s able to say the most remarkable and threatening things in an instantly approachable way.

‘No Sleep’ is a prime example of everything Fresh Da Zoe does so well: even when he’s going hard, he’s still conversational. He doesn’t just vary his flows, but he also changes his inflections, raises and lowers the delivery’s pitch, and pops enough lighter moments into stretches of extreme fury. He’s a communicator, and uses his voice to share excitement, danger, wit, provocation, and challenge.

Matching his verses to a hard-hitting trap beat, the accompanying video to ‘No Sleep’ reflects both the toughness of the talk and the charisma of Fresh Da Zoe. We see him early in the morning, but he’s still on the grind. He’s surrounded by pretty women, delicious food, fast cars, and still wants more. The clip is filled with a palpable sense of peril, with a real sense that this luxury is but fleeting, even more so because of Fresh Da Zoe’s dangerous lifestyle. He opens and closes the video by flying a Haitian flag, and the final frame is punctuated with a bang. If that’s a warning shot, then realise it’s the only one you’ll get from Fresh Da Zoe.

Watch the official music video for ‘No Sleep’ below. Find out more about Fresh Da Zoe and his music online on Instagram.