NO HANDSE

The Artist

Joey Valence & Brae are a Pennsylvania duo who broke out on TikTok with a scrappy, high-energy take on old-school hip-hop that owes an obvious debt to the Beastie Boys. Joey Valence handles most of the rapping while Brae produces and trades bars, and their whole project runs on breakbeats, shouted hooks, and a sense of humor that treats rap as a party first. They built a following through DIY videos and viral snippets before releasing their debut PUNK TACTICS, which cemented the retro-leaning, high-BPM sound they're known for. NO HANDS is their follow-up full-length, and it pushes their sound outward without abandoning the boom-bap-meets-electro core. It's the record where they start looking like a real long-term act rather than an internet novelty.

The Album

NO HANDS arrived in 2024, largely self-produced by Brae with the duo writing and recording as a tight two-person operation. The album leans harder into live-show energy, packing in features from Danny Brown, Z-Trip, and Terror Reid that signal a step up in collaborators without diluting the DIY feel. Sonically it stays close to their signature palette: crunchy breakbeats, big shout-along hooks, 808s that nod to Miami bass, and vocal deliveries pitched somewhere between rap, hype-man chant, and punk yelp. Lyrically the record is mostly about swagger, dancefloors, and self-mythologizing, with occasional flashes of self-awareness about how absurd their whole lane is. It's designed to be loud, short, and relentless.

Listen For

The breakbeat backbone. Nearly every track is built on chopped, hard-swung drum breaks that pull directly from late-80s hip-hop. Notice how "BUSSIT" sets the tempo and template for the record within seconds.

Danny Brown's cameo. On "PACKAPUNCH," Danny Brown drops into a beat that feels tailor-made for his higher register and manic cadence. Listen for how his verse recontextualizes what the duo has been doing.

Z-Trip's turntablism. The title track "NO HANDS" features veteran DJ Z-Trip, and the cuts and scratches are a reminder that this album is rooted in an older tradition than TikTok virality suggests.

The trade-off vocals. Across tracks like "LIKE A PUNK" and "THE BADDEST," Joey and Brae swap bars and stack shouted hooks in a way that clearly descends from Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D. See how tight the handoffs are.

The party-first lyrical world. From "DOUGHBOY" to "JOHN CENA" to closer "OMNITRIX," the writing lives in a universe of dance floors, flexes, and pop-culture punchlines. Track how much of the album's identity is built through references rather than storytelling.