Gaten – ‘Add Up’

Young Atlanta vocalist Gaten has this year been releasing music at a furious pace, with fans enthralled by the series of new songs he’s dropped ahead of ‘Opp-eration Z6ne’, his hotly anticipated mixtape. Pairing each track with a video that takes the viewer deep into the world he’s rapping about, his latest track, ‘Add Up’ is no less compelling, and indeed, is the catchiest, and the most dynamic song in the run of singles, and the clip, produced by Global Visionz, will immerse viewers in a way of life that most people never encounter.

Like Gaten’s other recent singles, ‘Add Up’ perfectly unites sound and sentiment, beats and rhymes, alongside street heat and dangerous cool. Gaten’s stinging rhymes are matched by tight, sharp production from Canadian beatmaker Rylouis, who also made the music for Gaten’s April release, ‘2024’. Rylouis’ speciality is skittering hi-hat, sinister piano loops, and thumping 808s, and it’s consequently the perfect environment for Gaten. In direct contrast to his subject matter, Gaten is witty and shrewdly wise, and a vivid storyteller, who’s able to make you believe every single word he says with an undeniable swagger.

That swagger pushes its way to the forefront in ‘Add Up’, with Gaten presenting himself in the clip with an attitude that’s both proprietary and commanding: we’re guests in his world, and he allows us to stay only if we can handle it without freaking out. Global Visionz sets the night-time scene, and we see Gaten’s roughneck friends, money and adding machines, and his cars – all symbols of his dominance. He runs with a volatile crowd, and with Global Visionz’s camera work we are made to literally sense the destabilisation and mounting tension.

Watch the video for ‘Add Up’ below and let us know what you think. You can catch up with what Gaten is up to on Twitter.