Brand new solo LP & the 5th overall from New Orleans rapper, producer & deejay $crim of the $uicideboy$. The first of the boy$ to branch out on his own by dropping the solo debut A Man Rose to the Dead during the COVID-19 pandemic to mixed-to-negative reception including from myself. Lonely Boy was a solid introduction to $crim’s alter-ego even though you can tell it was inspired by Destroy Lonely’s debut album If Looks Could Kill & the sequel Lonely Boy 2 was more of a thank you, coming off Via Crucis for the 3-hour Runaway.
“a nightmare worth pursuing” produced by both $crim & G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox begins with Budd Dwyer asking God gives him a peace of mind prior to “claymore” admitting that he’s feeling dead as of late & pouring a bottle up for the shit he bottles up now. “is this really it?” poses the question whether or not there truly is an afterlife when we all die or if it’s lights out while “fort wayne” talks about getting psyched the fuck out.
We have $crim dropping a single verse for “deus vult” preceding an instrumental break & a spoken word outro leading into “broken boy” talking about his struggles with mental health from overdosing on pills to possibly shooting himself as part of suicidal ideation. “range (i don’t show it)” confesses to him waiting all evening got a woman he’s infatuated with just before “bleak midwinter” talks about having no one to call, hence the Lonely Boy nickname.
“if life was fair, ducks would have shotguns” asks if one has ever been killed in a mosh pit & boasting that he’s more eastbound than Danny McBride while “2ndworldvagrant” suggests for everyone to stay the fuck away from him. “country boy” hits us with a freestyle talking about the Devil picking the wrong person to tempt & not being with the drama while “unbelief” confesses to being numb after his grandfather passed as a teenager.
Dynox gets behind the boards once again for “blood knife” asking God to have mercy on a sinner like him while “clairaudience” talks about the nights growing longer & the days becoming shorter, suggesting the reaper’s close if he isn’t here already. “dead eyes ent” likens him & his brother $lim Gucci to the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions & current 2-time HoG Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz while “broken vessels” addresses the children who only know goodbyes.
“moments of nothing & bridges to nowhere” asks himself if anyone would ever noticed if something were to happen to him when I’m sure the G*59 fanbase would while “calabasas” issues a response to the people who claim he doesn’t act Christian, claiming he found God in the middle of a smokey meeting. “tears of war” references his squad’s health & wellness coach Jewel Scott while “get behind me, Satan!” talks about the way he be swervin’ the coupe.
Things make a turn for bombastic territory during “north like korea” looking to shake up the entire block by staying where the schemes are at while “american spirits” talks about the voices in his head that won’t go away until his time comes. “jose alvarado” aims to walk more people down than the New York Knicks’ point guard of the same name while “maybe you’re right…” talks about him going from his mother kicking him out the house to being a millionaire.
“cortisol” for being Runaway’s only single didn’t really make me any more or less excited for it regardless of him describing the stress hormones taking over while “the narrow door” samples “Changes” by Black Sabbath talking about counting his nights after wasting half his life. “weep for me, for i whither away” explains that his road’s already been chosen & being too far gone to return while “nightmare on the northside 4” continues the saga containing 5 different musical sections of it’s own.
My 2nd favorite Ye single “Runaway” gets interpolated on “trackstar” to end the 1st leg of the full-length realizing there’s no escaping nothing no matter where he goes while “another man” confronts a woman demanding to know whether or not she’d still love him if he was a regular guy. “heaven 4 a fiend” shows optimism regarding there possibly being a paradise for drug addicts while “freestyle courtesy of trauma” has a more cutthroat approach in terms of lyrics & delivery.
“hourglasses” gives the world a glimpse inside of his diary instead of chasing for hits & others being completely unaware that he’s terrified in the inside while “i don’t go outside anymore” talks about being alone in his room convinced that he’s unworthy of healing. “silent floods” admits to the fear he has of losing his life & crying when he’s driving by himself while “color me dead” talks about none of these pussies wanting smoke with his team.
The soul sample Wetto chops up “for the love of the game” was pretty impressive boasting that he’s already popped off more than he could count while “bleeding ghosts” tried to figure out how some people perceive him. “widow voice note 48” splits itself in 2 separate halves admitting that he hates the life he has as much as his own family does while “screw tape letters” suggests for his girl to backstab him in the chest if that’s what she intends to do.
“baptized in ash” talks about him never giving any fucks over the course of his career & demanding for all the sick pedophiles in the world to be executed while “wojak” interestingly flips “Bossier City Kidnap Victims” to talk about these lame ass dudes eventually phasing out because they don’t phase him even a little. “skrt cobain” comes through with another 2-parter detailing what he would say was amongst the loneliest days of his life while “saint maximilian kolbe” talks about consuming 20 pills.
One of the more melodic moments easily has to be “lest i die because of her” encouraging a woman he’s been interacting with to stop doubting herself & for all the fuckboys to hit the bricks while the “starlight freestyle” cloudily talks about having to play his cards right. “lord, i’m tired” much like “broken boy” contemplates suicide except he’s asking for God to take the pain away while “dirty realism” calling for those who’re truly about it to raise their guns up.
“sans deur” discusses his murderous tendencies & every day growing colder than the winter while the rage-inducing “bust down keanu reeves” tries to figure out what everyone else be talking about exactly. “a mother’s burden” assures a woman whose face is painted with regret that he’ll literally starve to death for her while “is it worse to live as a monster or die a good man?” pleads for this person to make a reservation for their expectations.
There’s a bit of an emo influence to “comfortably numb”, singing over a guitar about getting an individual to no longer hurt him again since he feels the need for a companion while “swan song” raps of him being forever trapped inside of the hero they demand. “credo” flexes that his girl won’t ever need a full-time job unlike some of these other rappers while “millionaires vow of poverty” talks about hustling for the fuck of it & disassociating because of life feeling like a trance.
“narco melody” finally winds down the last moments of Runaway asking why he feels alone & broken preceding the urges of taking his own life getting to him not too long following a beat switch while “memento mori” talks about his entire body itching from the drugs he’s been sippin’ along with losing what little pieces left of me with each day passing. “all death is certain” takes up the last 3 minutes hopping over a bare guitar to discuss life constantly breaking down.
Since 2018 already, I’ve primarily been positive whenever reviewing the $uicideboy$ & G*59 as a label other than an exception or maybe 2. That said: I do think Runaway has more enjoyable moments than A Man Rose to the Dead even if I’d have to say it’s the 2nd weakest entry in $crim’s solo catalog. Putting aside the fact that it’s 59 tracks as a nod to G*59, I would’ve enjoyed the album A LOT more if the amount of filler wasn’t a giant elephant in the room.
Score: 2.5/5
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