Johnny Priest works out of Cologne with a sound that refuses to sit still, mixing hip-hop, reggae, funk, dub, and world influences, sung in German, English, and Spanish. “AlgoRitmo,” out June 19th, plays on the word “algorithm,” splitting it into “algo” and “ritmo,” a bit of rhythm, and uses that wordplay as the jumping-off point for a track about pulling away from the noise in your head and reconnecting to something more physical through music.
The groove is absolutely incredible in this song; it’s so heavy but at the same time very danceable; it’s what hip-hop is all about. The groove is definitely led by the drums, but all the other syncopated elements are what make it truly funky, with the horn sections and the clavinet; it’s top-tier. The beat switch halfway through turns it into almost a nu-metal song, with some creepy harmony and a distorted bass sound holding it down with the drums. This song is a whole musical journey, and this is rare for a hip-hop song, as usually it’s just a catchy beat with the main focus being the vocals and the lyricism, but here the music is just as emphasized, if not more emphasized.
That structural ambition tracks with Johnny Priest’s whole approach, stacking cumbia percussion under hip-hop beats and Balkan-style horns over reggae bass lines without treating any of it as a gimmick. “AlgoRitmo” takes that instinct further than a typical genre-blend single would, actually restructuring itself midway through rather than just layering a few different textures on top of one groove. It’s a bigger swing than most tracks built primarily around danceability tend to take, and it pays off because the shift never feels random; the heavier, distorted second half still locks into the same rhythmic backbone the first half set up. This is a song I would recommend to any music enjoyer; that’s how good it is.