Zayland Embodies His Inner Rockstar In "Rolling Stone" [Premiere]

Source: Zayland

The track is produced by Stefon Osae.

"Black on black, like a Rolling Stone," croons rapper and singer Zayland in the hook for his song "Rolling Stone."

If Rae Sremmurd are the self-proclaimed black Beatles, Zayland and Stefon Osae — the track's producer — could make their case as the black Rolling Stones.

Although Osae isn't present in the "Rolling Stone" video alongside Zayland, the latter embraces his inner rockstar in the visuals, which finds him venturing throughout Dallas in an all-white Mercedes-Benz before ending up at a photo shoot. Directed by Emanuel and shot by Luan Pham, the video captures the beauty and charm of the north Texas City — from its tall, downtown buildings to its Margarget Hunt Hill Bridge.

"Filming the video was crazy," Zayland said in a text message. "I had the idea to add all my homies from this studio I work with called OD Studios, to act as a fake camera crew and to act out the direction of the video. Luan is one of the best — if not the best — videographers in Dallas. He shot everything by himself, but you can't even tell."

Unsurprisingly, the inspiration behind the song, which was shared by producer Sango when it first came out, comes from the Rolling Stones.

"I was listening to the [Rolling Stones song] 'Paint It Black' a lot randomly, and then once I heard the beat from Stefon, I just freestyled the hook and put the song around it," Zayland said.

Zayland and Osae are a part of the Nu Wave Sound collective in Austin, Texas. The collective were part of a recent official Thundercat after party hosted by When Where What Austin, as well as frequently hosts and puts on their own events and parties, helping to expand the burgeoning rap and DJ scene that is growing in the city.

"I think the Austin rap scene is brewing right now. I want to open a window for not just Austin artist but all Texas artist to get through," Zayland said. "That's one of the main reasons I joined Nu Wave because we both shared that goal in mind. Texas has more talent then anywhere, but for some reason are market gets left out a lot. We're trying to change that."

Zayland will be releasing an EP soon, with the first single from the project slated to come out in the next few weeks.

Zayland can be found on Instagram here, Osae can be found on Instagram here, and the Nu Wave Sound can be found on Instagram here.