Offie Mag

What do the 2008 USA men’s basketball team and ASF have in common?

They both feature one very talented guy from Baltimore and one from Chicago.

The connections don’t just stop there, with the Baltimore native now plying his trade in the Big Apple. I could write endlessly about my love for Carmelo Anthony or why Dwyane Wade is the third-best 2-guard ever, but I won’t. Because ASF have just dropped ‘100 Bands’ — a song the duo say “tells a story of the rat race in New York City, and no matter how successful you are, you're still a rat at the end of the day.” Something that everyone trying to make it in this world can relate to.

And that brings us neatly to their debut. ‘100 Bands’ is the first official release from ASF, and although they’ve collaborated on and off for the last six years, it marks the beginning of a project that looks to take Neph’s raps and combine them with Cal.x’s energised footwork and jungle production. A blend that really just makes sense — with Neph hailing from the Windy City, where dance music is imbued into its communities, he would have been exposed from a young age to footwork greats.

If you spend any time doom-scrolling through your vertical video provider of choice, you’ll know about the so-called “grindset” that plagues the minds of many young and impressionable people. There’s a balance to everything — you need to work to make your dreams come true. ‘100 Bands’ acknowledges this, but also reminds us of the toxicity that can surround hustle culture.

You can watch the video for ‘100 bands’ below.

Words by Louis Rowland