Philly MC Armani White has been on a seemingly meteoric rise since the viral success of his single “Billie Eilish” last year. To some it seems sudden, but for those in the know, it’s been long-in-the-making. We’ve been rooting for this charismatic Philly artist since a high-energy Key Studio Session in 2015 and a mindblowing performance at Made in America 2018; the news that he joined the Def Jam Records roster last summer could not have been a bigger thrill.
Today we get word of White’s next leap into the spotlight — his debut project for Def Jam, Road To Casablanco, out in two weeks on Friday, May 5th. With the announcement comes a new single, “Silver Tooth,” which is deeply funky and fun, and the most “classic” of Armani’s recent tracks. Unlike the punchy trap of “GOATED” and the dizzying electro-tinged “Billie Eilish,” this song’s beat hearkens back to the Timbaland era of the early aughties [EDIT: the song’s primary sample actually comes from “Take Ya Home” by Bow Wow, which was produced by The Neptunes and Jermaine Dupri. The more we know!], and the most likely to be a crossover between generations of hip-hop lovers.
Harlem icon A$AP Ferg assists on the song, which has White barring down with fast-paced images of a tenacious childhood off of 52nd Street in West Philly. It’s equal parts raw and celebratory, something he refers to in a press release as “happy hood music”: “The reason why I call my songs happy hood music is because I went through a lot of trauma and pain…and I take that dark, murky color, throw it at the wall and watch a rainbow come out.”
Listen to “Silver Tooth” below and keep an ear out for more on Road To Casablanco.