Steve 'Flash' JuonWith a few notable exceptions it’s fair to say horrorcore rap was a passing fad. Esham and the Gravediggaz (RIP Too Poetic) had moments of shine, but a lot of newcomers tried to jump on the bandwagon and completely missed the mark. It’s not enough to have macabre raps, dark beats, or spooky themes. If there’s not real personality behind the bars, solo or a group, then it’s no better than a B-grade horror movie. Without any genuine atmosphere fake blood and bone chilling screams aren’t believable in cinema, and without rappers who have the chutzpah to convince you they’re psychopaths, there’s no cinematic raps. Going through the motions and saying all the cliches about raping, killing and murdering isn’t enough.
“I will make your corpse dance”
Yvncc appears to have learned from some of the mistakes of the fad’s peak. “ECTO” updates the formula for modern times. The beats on songs like “CreepyPasta & Chill” have more in common with the UK scene than US regional styles of rap. The sound feels genuinely ominous — very little melody, DEEPLY heavy bass, and rapid fire bars that just barely rise above them to the point of being subliminal. What you can make out is coldly factual. People who overstate their credentials or their gunplay skills can sound like tryhards, but “Trauma Bond” isn’t amused by the promises of stick-up boys who are out to tax.
“All I’ma say is, ask yourself first, is it worth it?
Cause if you show your face, them boys gon’ leave you hurting”
While Yvncc is reportedly just one man (from Oakland, California) he can change up his voice enough to make it sound like he’s having a conversation with himself. Neither one of them seem to be in their right mind. “Man I love that hoe cause she’s insane” is the sentiment of “VolCel,” with Yvncc only seeking out people as unhinged as him. Some rappers use the short length of their songs to hide the fact they’re not good enough for a longer song. In Yvncc’s case I believe it’s for the “jumpscare” effect. He doesn’t want you to get used to any one sound for too long before he throws something new at you.
“Not Like I Would Remember” is the perfect unsettling note to end “ECTO” on. “I got bugs crawling on my skin, it’s not fucking fun.” Yvncc swings wildly from bragging about how many hoes he has on his dick to how delusional and disoriented he is. I’m hard pressed to say this album rises to the levels of horrorcore’s glory days, but it’s the best attempt to make rap songs that feel demented I’ve come across in a while. Grime + grim = pretty good, but I admit it may just be too dank for some.