By Millan Verma

St. Louis artist Smino teamed up with quick-spitting ATLien JID and producer turned YouTube personality Kenny Beats on his newest track, “Baguetti.” Back in June, a few low-quality leaks of the song surfaced, and now we finally get to hear the full thing. This single is the follow up to Smino’s surprise mixtape, She Already Decided, that he released in April, which was a loose 16-track effort made available on an early 2000s looking mixtape website. 

“Baguetti” is Smino and JID’s first collaboration since their track “1993” on Dreamville’s most recent compilation album, Revenge of the Dreamers III. The two work well together and share similar backgrounds and career trajectories, as they both started to achieve fame around the same time. Kenny Beats’ production is low-key and hard-hitting, led by a lo-fi guitar melody and thunderous 808s. It provides a glassy soundscape that the two veterans slide on with ease. JID starts out the song by taking a breath, saying, “I need a minute to meditate / Just give me a second babe / Full of regret I been stressin’ on everything / So I’ma need everything.” For the rest of the song, the two go back and forth, discussing the perils of success, unforgettable moments from their past, and their shared insatiable drive. Smino provides melodic relief from JID’s full-frontal, in-your-face-rapping style, but also manages to match his partner’s speed on one of the verses. This track really demonstrates how professional and deserving these two artists are of their fame. They manage to compose a thought-provoking and emotion-rooted track while sounding completely natural, intelligent, and versatile. “Baguetti” is a shiny pebble to add to Smino and JID’s mountainous discography and it’d be great to hear the two collaborate again.