A seedy, rundown motel is where we set tonight’s scene.

It’s exactly the kind of place you see people hiding out on cop dramas.

The only difference is, Kari Faux is going undercover to ESCAPE the drama in “LEAVE ME ALONE.”

“Chill vibes” is an understatement here, but you’ll be surprised by how much real estate Kari takes up in your head while doing so little. Her background music is almost entirely composed from a funk bass and a basic drum set, and her verses are sung with just a touch more melody than spoken word. Even the video is mostly just tight- to mid-range shots of Kari hanging around the motel. Everything about “LEAVE ME ALONE” feels like it started out as a low-budget sketch on Funny Or Die, before it just got too damn good.

Take for instance that slow, spoken-word-esque delivery I was telling you about. Kari punctuates it in the chorus with the line “Don’t you call my phone” in a ridiculously high falsetto, which would be funny enough on its own, but is even funnier when you realize she’s mimicking that iconic Chi-Lites/Stylistics whine over a backing harmony. Though the entire video is Kari singing into the camera, there are a couple of times that she’s “aware” of it and interacts with us hilariously. The phone(s) in her room ring with a corny “Ghostbusters” jiggle and horror-inspired camera effects, driving her to “run” away. All of this climaxes in a gratifying punch line to her 3-minute joke that finally reveals who she’s been ghosting: fellow rapper jpegmafia, who she’s not afraid to peace out on in “real life,” too.

Here at SOUND IN COLOR HQ, we stan a rapper with dry humor, and Kari’s built an entire career in a weird sub-genre called internet rap, memerap, satire rap, etc. etc. Key identifiers are a lazy, deadpan delivery of a comedic message, a simplistic, lo-fi production, and a clever pseudonym (Kari FAUX, anyone?), all of which you’ll notice in “LEAVE ME ALONE” and the rest of Kari’s music. But she’s got a cinematic styling and lyrical polish that her predecessors⁠—think DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with “Thrift Shop,” Vince Staples with “FUN!,” Lonely Island & Lil Dicky’s entire catalogs⁠—simply don’t bring to the table.

Maybe because she’s a woman with a whole different perspective. Every woman in the world knows the struggle of avoiding some man, and that it can be a dangerous game. In “LEAVE ME ALONE,” Kari brings some comic relief into the picture, going to extremes to escape a dude who can’t read the room, dodging would-be cat-callers and Karens with all the RBF she can muster, and blowing off steam with some light personal property destruction.

We’ve all been there.

Now we’ve got some excellent theme music.

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