Guilty Simpson & Leonard Charles Re-emerge with Second LSD Single "My Inspiration" Billed As The Leonard Simpson Duo (Jakarta Records)

ARTIST CREDIT: MC Blue Matter & Simone Cihlar

2020's most "unlikely" collaborators, Detroit emcee Guilty Simpson and New Zealand-bred producer and multi-instrumentalist Leonard Charles have returned with their second single, "My Inspiration," billed together as The Leonard Simpson Duo. Later this month, they plan to unveil their similarly named full-length debut, LSD on Berlin, Germany-based imprint, Jakarta Records. Last year, just before year's end, The Leonard Simpson Duo burst onto the scene with their Psychedelic/Acid Rock-tinged single, "Nobody," which sampled "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore" from New Zealand's own Marlon Williams & Aldous Harding. "Nobody" was debuted over at esteemed publication HipHopDX last year, as well as across Jakarta Records' Bandcamp page, along with a full-fledged LSD album announcement. For "My Inspiration," Leonard Charles sampled and, no pun intended, took inspiration from Citizen Band's 1977 Mandrill 7-inch single, "In A Lifetime." Citizen Band were, in fact, a New Zealand super-group, of sorts, themselves, consisting of former members of both Split Enz & Space Waltz. "I'm glad the sample worked out. The Citizen Band track is so bada$$ from beginning to end that I could have made a beat from anywhere in the song, but I chose the intro, as it has so much grit in the piano, a grit that Detroit music is, also, known for," Leonard Charles explained within a press statement.


Original Citizen Band/Space Waltz drummer, Brent Eccles comments: "A very enjoyable part of my life as a musician and [I'm] thrilled The CB are still getting into the spotlight. Geoff Chunn (lead vocal, guitar) is a great writer." Charles found the aforementioned "In A Lifetime" sample when digging through a box of 7-inches left to him by a close friend who had passed away and says it jumped out at him as soon as the needle hit the wax. "'My Inspiration" is really Guilty's story. However, for me, so much of the music I love and inspires me comes from Detroit musicians, from Kenny Burrell & Yusef Lateef to J Dilla & Anthony Shakir. It's an honour to have Guilty Simpson over one of my beats talking about the Yin & Yang that makes up his city," Leonard Charles continued. "My Inspiration" additionally boasts a charismatic animated music video illustrated by MC Blue Matter (@mcblue_matter.) Blue Matter, also, designed a new promo "photo" of both Leonard Charles & Guilty Simpson rendered in his unique style, laid atop Simone Cihlar's Neo-Psychedelia LSD album cover, which you can see displayed up above. The Leonard Simpson Duo's LSD is now available to pre-order in both physical and digital formats directly from Jakarta Records. LSD will see a world-wide release on Friday, January 31, 2020.