WACK05 GOES 2000S FOR 'HATE IT OR LOVE IT'

Written by Andrew Mason
November 27th, 2024

SoCal-based rap duo Wack05 dropped "Hate it or Love it" last month, the newest single from frontmen Cap and Foxy. "Hate it or Love it," produced by Foxy and featuring vocals from both artists, released amid a flurry of singles the duo has planned heading into the new calendar year. The track was mixed & mastered by GMBEATZ at UNDRGRND Studios LA.

Wack05 has been a consistent staple of our UNDRGRND Network since 2022, but have been dropping music since long before that. Officially members of our Issue 8 Main Cover, the two have always stood out for their creativity, unique visuals, and ability to network with bigger industry artists (check out "Peaches & Cream" (feat. Lil Vada) right now if you haven't).

"Hate it or Love it" brings a fresh 2000's energy to Wack05's catalog. The track's name and sample is an homage to The Game & 50 Cent's 2005 "Hate It Or Love It" track off of the legendary The Documentary album. In fact, Foxy flipped the same sample — "Rubber Band" by The Trammps — that was used in the original 2005 Game & 50 song.

"I was listening to it, and was like, 'Oh, I could flip that,'" Foxy says. "Cap was also involved in the production process with that sample choice."

The visual rollout surrounding Wack05's "Hate it or Love it" also pays respect to 2000's hip-hop culture and rap aesthetic. The cover art features Cap & Foxy sitting on car tires like The Game in The Documentary art.

"We used The Game as reference," Cap says, "but we threw our Wack twist to it — added microphones, some cash, throwback jerseys. We have a good mix between 2000's aesthetic and Wack05 aesthetic."

Perhaps the most impressive visual component for the new single is the music video, shot and edited by Kenny of TOP FLOOR PRODUCTIONS, an independent film company that has made a handful of Wack05 content in the past.

"Kenny's done 80% of our videos," says Foxy. "We’ve known him for a long time — he understands our vision, he’ll fly out and stay on our couch, whatever it is. Those are the best relationships."

As all great Wack05 music videos do, the video opens with a skit. What seems to be a chill hungover morning poolside, quickly turns into a high-flying stunt performed by Cap himself.

"The concept of Cap jumping off the roof into the pool didn't even happen until we were there," Foxy says. “He told us, 'You better get this 'cause I'm only doing this once.'"

All the flashy visuals and dangerous stunts aside, the message Wack05 shares in "Hate it or Love it" is an important one. The two took a short break from new drops in early 2024 as they graduated college and moved back to SoCal. But now, they've seemed to reconnect to finish the year stronger and more focused than honestly they were before.

“Coming back from hiatus, we’re going all in with Wack05," Cap says. "We're gonna stick to what we got going on, and they either gonna hate it or love it.”

“Not only are we more confident in being whack," Foxy follows, "but we're more confident in the music we're putting out, the content we're putting out, and the videos we're putting out. Cap and I are even more confident in each other.”

"Hate it or Love it" by Wack05 is streaming now on all platforms, with the music video on YouTube. BTS photos provided by @lost.apparition.