Meechy Darko

Both snarling and exacting in his approach to the mike, Meechy Darko established himself in the 2010s as one-third of Flatbush Zombies, a rap group who have represented their native Brooklyn neighborhood with the high-charting albums 3001: A Laced Odyssey and Vacation in Hell. Concurrent with the activity of Flatbush Zombies — who are also part of the collective Beast Coast — Meechy has made featured appearances on scattered tracks, and has issued Gothic Luxury (2022), his solo debut. The set features a stark, insistent sound different from that of his group’s output.
A Brooklynite by birth, Meechy (born Demetri Simms) started recording the occasional guest verse around the time Flatbush Zombies were getting off the ground with their first mixtapes. Before the group hit number ten on the Billboard 200 with their 2016 album debut, Meechy had branched out with contributions to tracks by the likes of Joey Bada$$ (“My Jeep”) and Freddie Gibbs and Madlib (“Piñata”). Two of his highest-profile appearances followed in 2017 on Bada$$′ All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ and A$AP Mob’s Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy, both of which entered the Top Ten. A handful of Meechy guest verses trickled out over the next few years, but it wasn’t until June 2022 that the rapper offered his debut solo single, the grim and fiery pro-Black anthem “Kill Us All (K.U.A.),” issued in association with the Loma Vista label. Additional singles “Get Lit or Die Tryin’” and “On God” (featuring Freddie Gibbs and A-Trak) followed over the next two months and set up Gothic Luxury for its late-August arrival. Busta Rhymes, Black Thought, and Denzel Curry were also among the contributors. ~ Andy Kellman