The Heat Index is These Days’ hip hop column showcasing a new hot record we can’t stop playing.

It’s always a pleasure to see two underground Chicago MCs team up for the first time. Ajani Jones and Brittney Carter have both been making noise in the city for years but VICES marks their first time working together. Considering both artists’ affinity for downtempo neo-soul production, I’m surprised Ajani & Brittney hadn’t collaborated sooner.

The “VICES” beat, produced by Core REX, swirls together warm lo-fi synths & a choppy drum loop and both MCs feel right at home on it. After a delicate, syrupy hook from S.O.S., Ajani draws out an oceanic metaphor in his opening bars, before delivering one of my favorite lines of the song: “I got Alice high, we split a wood in Wonderland,” with remarkable casualness despite the line’s creativity.

The cover art is a loopy, abstract composition with flashes of bright yellows and blues; featuring a joint in one corner and a glass of hard liquor with ice in the other. Brittney makes reference to both in her verse: “Somebody pray for me, come take this drank from me. Imma roll the sticky when I’m stressin’ and that’s faithfully.” The line adds complexity to her 2019 song “Breakthrough,” where she penned the line: “you won’t catch me at no liquor store, had to leave the weed alone.” To me, this encapsulates the gravitational pull of vices; you can think you’ve left them behind one minute, and then the next, there they are by your side again.