Danger Mouse and Black Thought Team Up For ‘Cheat Codes’ Album

Danger Mouse and The Roots‘ Black Thought will drop their long-awaited joint album Cheat Codes on Aug. 12. The collection will feature a number of guest vocalists and rappers, including A$AP Rocky, Run the Jewels, the late MF Doom, Michael Kiwanuka, Joey Bada$$, Russ, Raekwon and Conway the Machine.

The 12-track album marks producer Danger Mouse’s first hip-hop album since his 2005 The Mouse and the Mask album with the mysterious masked rapper MF Doom, who passed away in Oct. 2020 at age 49. Roots lead rapper recently made his theatrical debut in the Black No More musical and amidst his duties on The Tonight Show with the Roots, Black Thought has released a string of 3 Streams of Thought EPs/albums since 2018.

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Danger Mouse and Black Thought first met up in 2005 and worked on some songs together at the time for a project that was then rumored to be called Dangerous Thoughts. Though the album never came to fruition, Danger (born Brian Burton) went on to collaborate with a wide variety of acts, including Broken Bells, Gnarls Barkley and Karen O and produce songs for Adele, U2, the Black Keys, Gorillaz, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more.

According to a release, “Cheat Codes finds Burton taking widescreen, soul-infused hip-hop soundscapes to new heights, whilst Black Thought’s incredible lyricism, razor-sharp rapping and raw hunger are somehow more commanding and thrilling than ever. It’s this unique alchemy and ability to raise each other’s game that makes Cheat Codes more than just the sum of its parts, and much more than typical producer-meets-rapper arrangement or side project.”

The duo dropped the UNCANNY-directed video for first single, “No Gold Teeth,” on Wednesday morning. “You ain’t f—in’ with no amateurs, homie/ Philly ain’t known for cheese steak sandwiches only/ Stop, yo I’m at the top where it’s lonely/ I got everybody mean muggin’ like Nick Nolte,” Black Thought raps on the tune over a classic throwback R&B vibe from Danger.

Check out the video for “No Gold Teeth” and the album track list below.

Cheat Codes

1. “Sometimes”

2. “Cheat Codes”

3. “The Darkest Part” (feat. Raekwon & Kid Sister)

4. “No Gold Teeth”

5. “Because” (feat. Joey Bada$$, Russ & Dylan Cartlidge)

6. “Belize” (feat. MF DOOM)

7. “Aquamarine” (feat. Michael Kiwanuka)

8. “Identical Deaths”

9. “Strangers” (feat. A$AP Rocky & Run the Jewels)

10. “Close to Famous”

11. “Saltwater” (feat. Conway the Machine)

12. “Voilas & Lupitas”

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