Steve 'Flash' JuonEDITOR’S NOTE: If you are feeling suicidal and need help please dial 988 or visit 988Lifeline.org today. Someone will always be there to listen and offer you support and alternatives.
“I’m trapped, and I can’t get out, yeah
So I might as well just fucking get high”
At times like this I feel like pointing out we are proudly funded by our patrons, because I don’t know how we’d talk about albums like “LONER” otherwise. I’m going to take a leap of faith here that Jumex is actually speaking from the heart on songs like “TRAPPED” — and if you’re wondering all of his songs are deliberately in all caps like his album’s title. It’s fitting because Jumex screams. Jumex screams a lot. He screams like someone who is in a lot of pain at all times. He screams more than Onyx, Body Count, and In This Moment combined. On songs like “TRAPPED” it’s clear Jumex both wants and needs help. He’s dealing with suicidal levels of depression. The only two things he can think of to do are get high or die. That’s his whole life and it fuels the entirety of his existential crisis. He’s howling at the world begging someone to listen.
“Go ahead, and wish me death, don’t want to live” is how Jumex opens “WISH ME DEATH.” It starts in a whisper but doesn’t take long to reach a full throated scream of anguish. He jumps back and forth from barely speaking loud enough to be heard above his bleak instrumentals to being so enraged you could hear him from miles away. It’s this stark contrast that forms the basis of his popularity… although now that I think about it “popularity” isn’t the right word. It’s more curiosity. This young man’s mental breakdown through his music, lyrics and accompanying videos has attracted gawkers around the world. They stare at him like drivers stare at a car accident as they drive by, potentially causing more accidents in the process.
“Can’t complain/when I’m hurt cutting up my veins”
Even when he’s singing and not screaming on songs like “ALIVE IN MY COFFIN” his topics are just as grim. This isn’t a happy person. When he asks “R U DOWN” he’s not asking “Are you down to ride for me?” He’s saying “Are you down to die with me?” His lyrics point blank say that people don’t like him and he feels like a killer. His mood swings are absolutely bi-polar to the point of being psychopathic. It’s amazing when he calms down enough to do one song that could actually be played or enjoyed in a way that’s not comparable to watching a man with one foot over the edge of a steep ledge, and that would be the title track of “LONER.”
The bad news is that it might be his least interesting song on the album. Generic SoundCloud emo rap may have garnered him a larger audience, but it’s his full mania on display that makes him such a curious, disturbing individual. I’m torn by how to describe “LONER” because by any traditional metric it’s not good. It’s 15 minutes long. It’s someone yelling in your ear about how much he hates his life for most of that short span. You couldn’t really recommend anything other than the title track to anyone you know. I suppose the best way to describe it is “fascinating.” If he’s really suffering as much as he portrays here I hope he got help and continues to get it. You certainly won’t forget this album after listening to it… and that’s something.