The next frontier of experimental rap is being built on sentient sound collages—at least that’s what it sounds like. Somewhere between Uzi’s narcotized emo R&B and Injury Reserve’s most haywire balladry is where SoundCloud’s coolest dopamine junkies reside right now: My go-tos are onesaiah and gunk for their campy, glitch-ridden melodics, and zatru for the panic-button gadgetry he produces for himself, MikeBrokeasf, and yuke. But my favorite is Philly-based crooner awfultop, whose Paris mixtape, from last October, is one of my most-played this year; the sound reminds me of the slyly unsettling euphoria that comes from hitting a fresh weed pen.
I’ve been playing “thrills,” from awfultop’s new bittersweet EP, over and over like it could expire at any moment. There’s tragic comfort in the way he ruminates on his vices in a cheery lilt: “I been reaching for more bars, that’s my only choice/Feels like it.” Sometimes his approach is so left-of-center that whole lines feel arrhythmic, but there’s a sedative allure in the way his sweet melodies find stasis in the chaos. The main thing keeping “thrills” from falling apart is the constant swirl of twinkly chimes from producers MASSI and og. Everything else–the percussive jumpscares, the distorted synth stabs, the unintelligible vocal samples–pops in and out at will.
Listen to “thrills” here.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
