Hit Once - Carefree Ant
When I first was introduced to Carefree Ant, he went by “Vizi0nz” (pronounced vi-sions), a photographer/videographer. For the past 2 years, he’s been making a transition into rapping, while continuing his passion for visual arts. In that time, Ant has released countless singles, even shooting some of his own music videos, while helping create a new visual style in the local Chicago rap scene. The vision Ant has for his videos comes with editing that’s reminiscent of early Vincent Lou Film’s; a variety of shots and some storytelling to go along with the song. On the music side, Ant has a style that hasn’t really taken into form yet in his local scene in Chicago. He’s a jack of all trades. He’s gone hyperpop with songs such as “Bic Time”, “Shroom Talk”, and his “Hippie Homie” series. If you’re looking for more typical rap, Ant has songs like “Keyblade”, “No More Labels”, and “Wassup”.
His newest single, “Hit Once”, caught my attention with the hypnotizing production, which makes you want to keep the song on repeat. On my first listen, I had some of the same feelings of when I first heard Whole Lotta Red by Playboi Carti, or some early Yeat, but unlike a lot of underground artists these days, Ant distinguishes his own sound and made this track his own. Throughout the song, Ant can be interpreted as talking about a situationship with a woman and/or some of his drug usage. In one of the first lines, “I might hit her once, go ghost, then I hit again”: you don’t really know which vice Ant is referring to, and it’s up for the listener to decide.
A music video was also released to coincide with the single, black and white footage of Ant, while smoking and drinking. At the 50-second mark, the song gets chopped and screwed, and the black and white melt into a vibrant scene of colors made to feel as if you’re going through this drug-induced experience. With this early introduction of Carefree Ant in 2023, we’ll see how many of his visions come to fruition this year. Chicago is filled with so much talent, and it’s going to be fun to watch how this upcoming wave of artists and creatives excel this year.
Watch the video for “Hit Once” by Carefree Ant
Follow Carefree Ant - SoundCloud Instagram