Lil Ugly Mane - Serious Shit
Mista Thug Isolation (2012)

Background:


Lil Ugly Mane is one of those artists that completely flew under my radar in 2012. I remember seeing the great album artwork here and there and didn't pay any mind, until a few years ago. Serious Shit was the first song I had ever heard from this artists, and I was blown away by the style. Before cloud rap and emotion rap started to show some mainstream interest, Lil Ugly Mane was creating some truly savage tracks, around 5 years before the genre blew up. i would go so far as to even credit him for influencing modern hip-hop today with many of the visual and emotional elements present, although done in a much more exhilarating way here.

The visuals do draw some elements from late 90s to early 00s rap artists, although in a bastardized sense. Taking the overly-machismo style and infusing it with grief, death, and depression. The lyrical content feels similar as his sharply dark rhetoric gleans through on every track. I would also recommend his series of "3 sided tape" albums, that take his style into more experimental territory.




Review:

The beginning of this track could be mistaken for some late night jazz that you would hear strolling into a NY bar. As the listener starts to paint a picture of the track, it changes directions quickly, with moody expressive instrumentals that lead into booming the booming chorus. The instrument sample is highly manipulated and gives an eerie sense as well as an impassioned background that echos throughout the track and feels perfect for the vocals.

The vocal delivery is slow riding, but heavy, allowing the listener feel the full impact of the lyrical content, and emotional expression in the track. Throughout the track the listener is bombarded with the sharply-tongued statements that help the listener peer into the internal world of Lil Ugly Mane. It is really amazing how you see all sides of the artist, as he stays in a machismo frame of mind, while delivering lines that are both confident and self-destructive at the same time.

The groove in this song is perfect for the dark and gloomy mood and is truly infectious. I do feel some light influences from the 2012 musical trends, possibly some vaporwave influences (more heavily present in other tracks on this album), although the song does feel strongly present on its own and is only complimented by the light influences, instead of feeling derivative.

I will definatley be returning to this track, and artist in the future, as his material is always interestingly varied. I would say to pop this album in, allow yourself to slip into the eerie mood, sit back, and enjoy




-TruffleDino