Before 2023 arrived, E-40 announced that his next album would be titled Rule Of Thumb, and — like many of his past releases — would be broken down into parts, each of which would stand as its own body of work. On Friday (March 24), the Bay Area star decided to bless his fans with a single from said project titled “Bands.” Produced by DJ Toomp, the track is an anthem for anyone who’s focused on getting money and living life to the fullest.
“Higher than a kite, than a military drone, smokin’ hella loud, settin’ off the fire alarm, everybody up and we ain’t comin’ down, players ’bout that verb, not a predicate or noun, I’ma play fair unless a hater take it there, put him on the chopping block, put some change on his hair, everybody goin’ live, everybody on the ‘Gram, super high sidin’, players flexin’ hella bands…”
“Bands” came with a matching visual courtesy of Jae Synth that brought viewers to Grambling State University, where E-40 performed alongside the HBCU’s famed Tiger Marching Band. The clip is also interspersed with shots of Meek Mill, Rod Wave, Offset, Lil Baby, Icewear Vezzo, Lil Durk, Moneybagg Yo, and more showing off stacks of cash, matching the song’s subject matter.
In regard to his solo discography, Rule Of Thumb will follow 2019’s Practice Makes Paper, a 26-song effort with a wealth of assists from Quavo, Roddy Ricch, Chris Brown, ScHoolboy Q, Rick Ross, G-Eazy, Boosie Badazz, Method Man, and more. The following year would see him teaming up with Too $hort for the double LP Ain’t Gone Do It/Terms and Conditions. Back in December of 2022, E-40 and Too $hort united with Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube to deliver the MOUNT WESTMORE album SNOOP CUBE 40 $HORT. Press play on “Bands” below.