Mike Rebel thumbs through his faded thoughts in his new video for "Twisted and Laidback." Rebel's punchlines, questions, and thought provoking statements are spelled out on tees, forcing viewers to visually digest his words. One shirt reads, "Talk Like Farrakhan, but I smell like Ferragamo," a line reflective of the many paradoxes that Rebel highlights about his perception and identity throughout the song.
"The song is pretty much my daily reflections off of psychedelics," Rebel told The FADER over email. "There was a time when I was really into mushrooms, I was somewhat of an urban shaman. I was sober at the time off of drugs and alcohol for a few years from probation and also because basic intoxications were becoming unmanageable and really led me to shit. But you can't test for psychedelics , and the mushroom told me my story through a different lens."
"It was more comical and it's was only a story. Much easier to get over it when it's just a story. So while making the album we jammed this out. The feel is up tempo but still slow at the same time , which is like being twisted or "realmin" - that's what it prefers to be called. Then It's like things are happening so fast but slow enough to catch you in astonishment. Everybody knows that you gotta stay laid back when your twisted!"