Track By Track: ‘GerviGlingur’ by JóiPé & Króli

Young rappers JóiPé and Króli burst onto the scene only weeks ago with their banger ‘B.O.B.A.’ Luckily, they also have a new album out called ‘GerviGlingur.’ To learn more, we sat down with them to discuss the album, line by line, track by track.

1. GerviGlingur
JóiPé: ‘GerviGlingur’ means ‘Fake Jewelry,’ like plastic chains. Rap always talks about fancy stuff and we don’t have any of that.
Króli: The working title was ‘Klein & Jewelry’—like Calvin Klein—but this fit better. It’s important to start an album with a strong intro and this was it.

2. Taktlaus
J: ‘Taktlaus’ means you’re not on beat or in sync. Króli’s verse here is my favorite from the album.

K: It’s my favourite song on the album too. Jói’s verse is like a poem. We recorded it on our shitty mic so it’s really raspy, but the lyrics are beautiful. They’re about depression and anxiety, all those things normal Icelandic teenagers go through. It’s really rare in the Icelandic hip-hop scene, where everyone fronts like fuck, for rappers to be soft and genuine.
J: “Is God alive over me? Please show me he is here. Please show me what happens after my time ends.”

3. Sagan Af Okkur
K: This song has a jazzy disco-y melody—one you want to sing along to. It’s not a song you’d listen to at a party, definitely by yourself.
J: ‘The History Of Us.’ It’s a song about screwing up, maybe with your girl or anyone you love. Everyone can relate.

4. B.O.B.A.
K: B.O.B.A. is an old quote from Bubbi Morthens. He was commenting on a boxing match with Mike Tyson. Tyson KOed the other guy and Bubbi yelled, “B.O.B.A. It’s a bomb!” We took the American “bad bitches” idea and brought it into Iceland, so it’s not “Bad & Boujee,” but just bad human beings literally doing mean things. “I like girls who rob my credit card. If she needs a ride she calls me but only sometimes texts me back and not fully. She can’t always tell me apart from my Dad.” We didn’t expect it to blow up but, like, holy fuck, it did. We are really grateful people understand the joke.

5. O Shit
K: That’s probably the stupidest title ever. It’s a good party song, very short, good bass. No further explanation.

6. Stælar
J: ‘Stælar’ means bad attitude. It’s basically about emotions, about having a bad attitude.
K: I’ve had that verse for a long time so it was nice to use it. The song has a Travis Scott feel.

7. Labba Inn
K: ‘Labba Inn’ is a weird song. It’s raw, with a bouncy house feel. It’s kind of unfinished but that’s the whole point. No autotune or anything.

8. Draumórar
K: I was working with kids this summer and was feeling down one day. I had this idea for a song about how much of a grind it is to stay relevant being an artist in Iceland. I hadn’t had any big songs then but the lyrics are about me wanting to be taken seriously as an artist.
J: ‘Draumórar’ means daydreaming. Króli’s first line is, “I started everyday with vitamins and a black cup of coffee and dreamt that everyone would know my name.” In Icelandic, it rhymes.
K: It’s the perfect outro. This whole album is a complete mania trip with highs and lows. We go all the way from talking about problems with your health to talking about bad attitudes. The Draumórar closure fit really nicely.

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