Hadji Gaviota – Ball & Chain @MalakaHadji

“Ball & Chain” is the first single from Hadji Gaviota’s upcoming album, “Captain”, due out this fall. The self-produced track has a melancholy, 80’s bounce to it with a catchy call-and-response (“I don’t really care!”) in the refrain. The video has the literal “ball” from “Ball & Chain” follow him through his day, with some scenic shots of Queens and Hadji’s fake band serving as a sort of Entourage meets the Wiggles crossover.

Hadji Gaviota is a 22-year-old singer, rapper, and producer born and raised in Queens, New York City. Hadji is his middle name (“It worked for Drake!”, he would probably say), and Gaviota means “seagull,” his favorite animal (“They’re nature’s rockstars”) in Spanish. His music spans the influence of everything from British punk rock to 90’s R&B to new-school alternative hip-hop, and he synthesizes it into a unique sound that can take a left turn at any time. His singing features rap intonations and his rap verses seamlessly add melodies, taking lead over lush, well-rounded and varied production. He loves the ocean and the city.