This is the 3rd mixtape from Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, producer, YouTuber & rapper Quadeca. His earliest output including Work in Progress, Nostalgia for the Now, Bad Internet Rapper & Out of Order were all received negatively as was the full-length debut Voice Memos. The sophomore effort From Me to You proved to be decent & coming off his most beloved offering yet I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You, he’s taking us to the Scrapyard full of material that didn’t make the final version of it’s predecessor to simultaneously fulfill his contractual obligations with deadAir Records.
Experimental hip hop, emo rap, glitch hop, cloud rap, folktronica, art pop, digicore, slacker rock & glitch hop all culminate in the intro “Dustcutter” begging not to be left out in the cold to dry prior to “A La Carte” featuring brakence blending experimental hip hop, emo rap, bedroom pop, digicore, midwest emo, glitch pop, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, art pop & abstract hip hop talking about rather being in their heads instead of their partners’ beds.
“Pretty Privilege” brings more of a general trap vibe confused by the compliments he’s been receiving from a woman he initially felt was lying when she called him pretty & trying to get to the bottom of as to why she genuinely feels that way leading into “Easier” fusing art pop, folktronica, neo-psychedelia, bedroom pop, emo rap, ambient pop, bossa nova, alternative R&B, dream pop, chamber folk & glitch pop talking about being in love with a chick who doesn’t feel the same way.
Quadeca steps outside the box in terms of sound on “Even If I Tried” with an outstandingly calculated outro trying to stop himself whenever he’s not feeling like himself while “What’s It to Him?” vulnerably admits his desire to hide a little less & cry more pulling inspiration from bands like The Beatles & Queen to Weezer. We get a solid attempt at hyperpop during “U Don’t Know Me Like That” touching base regarding a relationship that didn’t last while “I Make It Look Effortless” goes back to his roots over a combination of experimental hip hop, glitch hop, digicore, Americana, deconstructed club, industrial hip hop & folktronica.
“Way Too Many Friends” made for an introspectively eclectic pop rap, boom bap, jazz rap, neo-psychedelia, glitch hop, cloud rap, trip hop & abstract hip hop song advising to stop having his bluff called if you wanna make amends with him followed by a repetitive hook while “Guess Who?” expands on the versatility balling experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, glitch hop, industrial hip hop, dark plugg, rage, trap metal, glitch hop, wonky, deconstructed club, digicore & beat bruxaria all in 1 to spit braggadocio.
Shoegaze makes itself a prominent influence in the 2 & a half minutes “Under My Skin” has to offer feeling paranoid while “Being Yourself” sees past another person trying to act like someone else & airs ‘em out on it right on the spot. Would be furthermore remised to leave out the instrumental breakdown outro. “U Tried That Thing Where Ur Human” sonically feels reminiscent of Björk talking about being fed up of getting treated as if he’s dirt while the “Guide Dog” delivers a 2 minute folk ballad about the love he has for his romantic interest.
“Texas Blue” featuring Kevin Abstract concludes the tape with my favorite collaboration of the 2 realizing they’ve been masking their emotions throughout the portrayed relationships they’re involved with crossing over Americana, pop & R&B while “perfectly cut scream” starts the deluxe run by running to his hip hop roots tackling the theme of self-confidence & simultaneously giving a giant “fuck you” to the crowd who dismissed his artistic potential entirely because of his earlier output. Most of which he even said himself was trash in the midst of the last album rollout.
What was the original 2nd half of “perfectly cut stream” spins off into the noisy experimental glitch hop cut “like me” boasting that nobody’s doing this on his level while the 80 second “123” talks about having everyone’s eyes on him after counting to 3. “mad at me” heads for a synthpop direction realizing the person he’s addressing doesn’t care if they’re wrong while “1 step program” fired back at an individual tryna take credit in his success. “lifespan” could most likely be my least favorite of the 7 outtakes here with my criticisms having little to do with the instrumental & more so in terms of the half-baked structuring, which carries itself onto the final bonus track “who i am”.
For a collection of I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You leftovers, it’s similar to what Kendrick Lamar did with untitled unmastered. & To Pimp a Butterfly in that the cutting room floor of a great concept album got an equally beloved life of it’s own. It’s themes are focused around the issues Gen Z are facing masterfully combining art pop, experimental hip hop, electronic, glitch pop, emo rap, folktronica, alternative R&B, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, cloud rap, digicore, slacker rock, bedroom pop, midwest emo, abstract hip hop, ambient pop, bossa nova, dream pop, chamber folk, hyperpop, Americana, pop rap, boom bap, jazz rap, trip hop, hardcore hip hop, dark plugg, rage, trap metal, wonky, beat bruxaria, shoegaze & synthpop.
Score: 4.5/5
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