Steve 'Flash' JuonToday I’d like to introduce you to the term “dark plugg” by way of the rapper Squillo and his album “Nuxlear.” Had I not been told this was a genre of its own I would have said Squillo was a combination of manic vocals of Ride and the outsider lane of Flatbush Zombies with the grim overtones of UK grime. If you combine all of those things together you get dark plugg, which is considered to be a sub-genre of plugg music, which ITSELF is considered to be a sub-genre of trap trapping. If your head is spinning from that many subdivisions of rap music I don’t blame you. Songs like “Wanted” will have the same effect.
The only time you can hear Squillo’s vocals is when the instrumental drops out. Otherwise the extremely heavy bass completely distorts his delivery, which itself is rapped in something between a growl and a whisper at an incredibly fast speed. There’s an undeniable intensity to Squillo that’s hard to tear your ears away from. The listener imagines that the rapper they are hearing just did an incredible hit of drugs right before stepping in the vocal booth and then just let all of their feelings out in one take. When you CAN make out the lyrics on songs like “3 count” his anger at “pussy niggaz” is palpable.
If you told me this album was motivated by anything other than rage I’d call you a liar. Even the song titles have an axe to grind. “Overlook me” seems to be Squillo’s response to not only the rap industry but every single person in his life who doubted him. Unfortunately again the extreme amount of sonic blowout in the production makes it really hard to tap into his frustration and feel his wrath. His passion is as undeniable as the distortion obscuring his vocals.
“Nuxlear” is an album I recommend you listen to exactly once. If you can take the entire thing from start to end you deserve to unlock an achievement on Steam or PSN and get points added to your score. Dark plugg is a fascinating microcosm under a microscope, subdividing rap again and again until it’s left in a state that’s both refined and almost unrecognizable. As an example of this sub-genre “Nuxlear” is exemplary. As an example of music you can enjoy in your car stereo or via your headphones it’s not recommended. You are likely to make your ears bleed trying and that’s not the fault of the lyricist. He’s probably a better rapper than the score would make you think but it’s impossible to tell.