WHOKILLEDXIX uncover a bullet-riddled and action-packed music video for their latest single “9MM” via Masked Records/Warner Records. Watch above. The duo—Karm The Tool and Yung Skayda—just hopped on Twitch to personally premiere the clip and share the story behind it. Their livestream attracted fans who heard the story firsthand of how the guys created the video and the larger world around it.
The chaotic video game-style visual introduces the character of JAK. He engages in a high-octane gunfight, burns rubber in an illegal street race, pulls off a heist, outruns New York’s finest, and manages to kick it with his homies for some video game time at the end of the day. It stands out as unlike anything WHOKILLEDXIX have done—or the game has seen before. View JAK’s antics HERE and stay past the credits…
This time around, they deliver dystopian hip-hop of the highest order. With the chamber locked and loaded, the track sparks raucous rhymes over punchy drums comprised of gun sounds. It finds the duo—Karm The Tool and Yung Skayda—unapologetically innovating again as they level up sonically once more. The guys notably wrote, produced, mixed, and mastered the song by themselves in addition to envisioning the artwork.
About the single, Karm The Tool and Yung Skayda shared, “‘9MM’ is a song from the perspective of a gun in a video game. We put together everything we found cool about old school hip hop and put it all into this track using gun sounds as percussion. The vibe we ended up with feels perfect for those hot summer drives when you want to nod your head.”
Most importantly, it teases a much bigger move by the pair. On July 14, they will reveal the Lore, Vol. 2 EP. It will serve as the soundtrack to an upcoming original physical and digital comic book starring lovable menaces to society— JAK, CHAIN, KID, and MAGICMAN.
“The lore is a way for us to merge our music together with a visual experience,” added WHOKILLEDXIX. “The EP is really a soundtrack for the comic book, and the comic book is also a reflection of the music. The inspiration for the two mediums goes both ways. This way we can really take the idea of world building to another level. The story itself is chaotic and really in-your-face. There are good guys and bad guys and also a bunch of characters in the middle. There will be a lot open for interpretation for now, but this project is just the beginning of this story.”
“9MM” lands in the wake of “LUCK1” which followed their similarly dynamic “H4LO.” Both tracks follow the Connecticut natives’ debut album PULLBACK, which dropped last year. Filled with hard-charging creations like “ATTENTION!,” “ANXIETY,” and “it takes two,” the album announced the arrival of a boldly original new voice in music. PULLBACK followed the EPs LORE, Vol. 1, Fall Damage, and 19. And with over 250 million combined streams thus far, it’s safe to say their brand of songwriting is connecting with fans.
In July, the duo headlines the Death Walkers tour. Get ready for Lore, Vol. 2 and more from WHOKILLEDXIX.
TOUR DATES
5/31 – Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s
6/1 – Bakersfield, CA @ Jerry’s Pizza & Pub
6/2 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst
6/3 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck Of the Woods
6/5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell
6/6 – Denver, CO @ Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side
6/7 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
6/8 – St. Louis, MO @ Red Flag
6/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
6/12 – West Chicago, IL @ The WC Social Club
6/24 – Dallas, TX @ So What? Fest
7/11 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Jam Spot
7/12 – Amarillo, TX @ Bomb City Distillery
7/13 – San Antonio, TX @ The Paper Tiger
7/14 – Houston, TX @ UNIVERSALMADNESS Fest
7/15 – Dallas, TX @ Christ Embassy Church
7/16 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
7/18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Black Lung Society
7/19 – Las Vegas, NV @ Cool Vibes Studio 2
7/20 – Santa Ana, CA @ La Santa
7/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Catch One
7/22 – Palmdale, CA -@Transplants Brewery
ABOUT WHOKILLEDXIX:
Yung Skayda and Karm the Tool of WHOKILLEDXIX are building intricate musical worlds. The Los Angeles rap-punk duo have released three full-lengths, an EP, and a sprawling collection of stylistically uncharacterizable singles that have won them a huge and committed global fan base, earning streams well into the hundreds of millions. With their songs and videos going forward—including a new EP due in early summer—the duo hopes to create an increasingly coherent narrative universe. It makes sense to look for unity in WHOKILLEDXIX’s storytelling since the group’s musical methodology is to try something as different as possible from what came before it, leaving nothing off the table creatively. Presenting unhinged sounds with confidence is their signature; disorder is the organizing principle. WHOKILLEDXIX’s sound was informed by their childhood in Connecticut playing in punk bands and their formative love for XXXTENTACION’s confrontational, genre-agnostic hip-hop. Their first two releases, 2018’s Pajamas and 2019’s Valyntyne’s Day EP, find their warped sense of humor coupled with styles ranging from throwback hyphy to hushed emo to melodic R&B—all recorded on their iPhones. With their latest music, they’re weaving this boundary-pushing approach together with compelling visuals, a comic book, and an overall mythos that will hook fans for the long haul. They are careful to note, though, that their M.O. hasn’t changed—they’ll always be doing whatever they want, whenever they want.
