It was a quiet afternoon in March 2021, just a few months after I’d started my college journey that I discovered the musical prowess of Gum.mp3. Just like any other day, I was chained to the confines of my room due to COVID-19 restrictions and my roommate was nowhere to be found.
I allowed Spotify the pleasure of deciding what I’d be listening to as I procrastinated my way through yet another paper.
My Daily Mix sifted through songs I’d heard countless times before and I hummed along, tapping my fingers against my silver-keyboard and bopping my head.
Shortly after, a new song played.
“Cartz.” The title read.
There was a strange green-hued drawing of what looked like a man in a snowsuit. I didn’t understand the cover, nor was I familiar with Gum.mp3 (previously known as Dirty Bird) but I figured I’d bite. I was never one to shy away from a new musical discovery.
The sultry sound of feminine moans behind a fuzzy yet funky rhythm flooded my ears and I immediately saved the song to my likes.
“Let’s dance til we go crazy.
The night is young and so are we.”
It instantly became my new favorite, encapsulating my unwavering appreciation for monotony/repetition in music. Cartz exposed me to a world of underground garage/drum&bass/DJ/dudes having fun-type of music that I never knew I needed. Unsurprisingly, when my Spotify Wrapped came out, it was my number one streamed song—a whopping 318 listens for the year. Just this past summer, I went to his DJ set in Chicago and he was just as cool as his music sounds.
“Don’t eat me up in this photo!” He exclaimed, grinning so wide his cheeks dug into his eyes as the flash went off.