Hasta La Ideas

Lebanon-born, France-raised trumpeter, composer and producer Ibrahim Maalouf teams up with Brooklyn-born rapper, singer and record producer Erick the Architect (of Flatbush Zombies) for the raucous “MONEY.” Brimming with musical influences from the Middle East and Africa, elements of ’80s synth-pop, jazz and electronic, it’s a horn-heavy bonanza that’s much more than an ode to cash. Maalouf says, “I presented this track to him and explained my vision for it; it was about having our actions controlled by others in the name of money. I wanted to make a song about that. The idea was to imagine people as pawns, controlled and exploited, like in The Matrix. Erick was immediately on board with the concept.”