This week Alex Orange Drink released “Supa Dilla Cancer Killa,” the final single ahead of the release of his forthcoming LP Victory Lap (#23), avialable May 9 via Conor Oberst’s record label Million Stars. The song features guest vocals from Alex’s stepmother Sadhis Rivas, who was also undergoing treatment for cancer alongside Alex during the recording of the song. Alex Orange Drink has also announced an album release show at Mercury Lounge on May 31 with support from GYMSHORTS and special guests to be announced. “Supa Dilla Cancer Killa” follows the release of “Everything Is Broken,” “Queen Victoria” (feat. Conor Oberst) and “The Future’s A Riot”.

About the new song, Alex Orange Drink explains, “The new single, ‘Super Dilla Cancer Killah’ is an anti-cancer anthem. Written and recorded while I was going through intense chemo and radiation, I think it tackles a pretty heavy subject in an empowering & almost cartoon-like fashion. It’s inspired by ‘90s gangster rap and dedicated to J Dilla. The song features my stepmother, Sadhis Rivas, originally from Nicaragua. She survived a revolution, and an earthquake. She was also going through cancer treatment herself at the time of the recording. She sings the chorus with me and the outro in Spanish. ‘Olvidate del cáncer y canta esta cancion / olvida los problemas y baila con passion (asesino!) / no pienses en el cáncer y canta esta cancion / no pienses en el cáncer y vive por vivir.

Victory Lap (#23) is the third solo release from Alex Zarou Levine, known as the lead singer and songwriter of Brooklyn punk band The So So Glos. In June 2023, following a sold-out show at Bowery Ballroom, Levine was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, a rare and serious form of cancer affecting his salivary gland. Written and recorded in the midst of his intensive treatment, Victory Lap (#23) captures the intensity of his experience while maintaining an undercurrent of defiant optimism.

Translation:

‘Forget about cancer and sing this song
Forget your problems and dance with passion
(killer!)
Don’t think about cancer and sing this song
Don’t think about cancer and live for life’”

Victory Lap (#23) follows his 2021 full length Everything Is Broken Maybe That’s OK and 2018 solo debut Babel On. Last year, he was featured as a guest vocalist on Bright Eyes’ song “Rainbow Overpass” and co-writer of 7 songs on their new album Five Dice, All Threes. As co-founder of venues Market Hotel and Shea Stadium, Levine has been a key figure in New York City’s D.I.Y. scene for nearly two decades. A New York native of both Palestinian and Jewish descent, he has lived with Homocystinuria, a genetic disorder that requires a strict diet and an orange flavored daily medication, the namesake of his alias Alex Orange Drink.

Alex Orange Drink
Victory Lap (#23)
Tracklist

1. Victory Lap
2. Queen Victoria (Feat. Conor Oberst)
3. The Future’s A Riot
4. Everything Is Broken
5. 27 Club
6. My Year In A Plastic Bag
7. Super Dilla Cancer Killah (Feat. Sadhis Rivas)
8. Looking Up
9. These Days Are Just Like The Good Old Days
10. Don’t Look Down (On The Harlem River Drive To MSK)

Pre-order Victory Lap (#23) by Alex Orange Drink HERE