2hollis is demolishing North American stages; he's not just riding the wave, he's defining the wave. The genre-bending producer and artist are still going strong, even while on the road, with the release of this throbbing, synth-soaked anthem, "Afraid," featuring his collaborator on tour, Nate Sib. "Afraid" is an adrenaline shot to the heart glitchy, hypnotic, raw introspection.
"Afraid" is a sonic thrill ride from the jump, pairing dizzying production with ethereal vocals that flit among vulnerability and defiance. 2hollis pours out what wrestles him, the dissonant waves of fame and identity and constant, percolating pressures to keep winning. "How do you deal with change? Adjusting to fame? I got hit by a plane," he questions over a warped, hyperpop-tinged beat. The existential heaviness of it all earns a blunt, almost rude answer: "Shut up and laugh and love it." It's the kind of savage honesty that makes 2hollis and Nate Sib's work together so magnetic, raw emotion clothed in choppy, frenetic energy.
The accompanying music video for "Afraid" is a fever dream of rapid-fire images captured in a desolate warehouse and an abandoned mall. The video features the duo's explosive energy repurposing debris into art. It's an appropriate setting for a song that grapples with self-doubt as it revels in the excitement of losing control.
Packing in a sold-out headlining tour, appearances at festivals in Australia and New Zealand, and his first Coachella, 2hollis finds that fear is another obstacle to conquering one electric track at a time.