Written Before Listen
Sematary is a hip hop artist who I just found out about. The main reason on why I decided to review him was of the unique cover this mixtape has. I’ve seen some pretty positive reviews from critics and instagram users alike. I will introduce myself to Sematary as this mixtape is my first listen to him and his music. I hope this music matches up to this cover.
Aesthetic
As the cover shows, Sematary isn’t your ordinary rapper. His cover takes a lot of influence from the No Limit albums from the 90s. The production itself takes a lot of black metal samples, Young Chop drums and massive distortion. The whole aesthetic of the mixtape is basically a hellish version of a 2012 Trapaholics mixtape…hosted by who I believe to be a fictional character named DJ Sorrow. Despite the low-budget aesthetics this mixtape takes, it really doesn’t shy away from sounding fresh.
Influences
From the aesthetic, melodies and samples, it’s easy to realize Sematary’s influences. The black metal influence is there, the Chicago Drill influence is there and the old Southern Hip Hop influence is there. What he does with each influence is combine them without trimming the fat as the beats are compressed and saturated to the point where you can serve them as a McDonalds SoundCloud 10 piece.
Production
The production on the tape is handled by Sematary himself. As I mentioned that his sampling choice tends to be towards old black metal songs. I should also mention that his drum choice is similar to that of Young Chop. The vocals even sound like Chief Keef at points but the mixing of his vocals are like the equivalent of oil boiling at 1000 degrees. It’s funny that I talk about the samples too because they are only recognizable before the drums come in. The 808s are easily the loudest in the mix. This is fully intentional too as his older music doesn’t sound this brutal. Come to think of it, this might be the hip hop equivalent of Darkthrones “In the Blaze In The Northern Sky”.
Themes
We’ve talked about his influences, his aesthetic and his production. That might sum this mixtape up but what about his lyrics? What does he talk about? Usually his lyrics tend to an anarchist belief with an occultist twist. With that being said he lyrically brings stories about crime that are vulgar and disturbing. The overbearing mix made me want to check his lyrics on Genius due to his mumbly delivery over these beats. You could honestly sum up his lyrical themes with some of the track titles, for example a title like “God’s Light Burns Upon My Flesh”. Other track titles include “Murder Ride”, “Necromancer” and “Skincarver”. If you look at his lyrics, you will see that his persona is that of a devil worshipping, crucifying and proud serial killer/necromancer/arsonist.
Cons
First off….this is a little too much. Every time I end this mixtape, I feel like I need to take a walk or even sleep just to get me back to normal. The vocals can be a little too deadpan for these “turnt” beats but only in occasions. To be real, This was one of the most brutal and overbearing listens I’ve had in a long time…but I enjoyed it.
Verdict
God damn…..this is not a mixtape to multitask with. The music is overbearingly surreal as it’s vividness is too precise for me to comprehend. At first listen, I hated this, but the things I hated about this turned into big pros of mine.
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