Steve 'Flash' JuonThere may have been nothing more unlikely for me than listening to sewerperson and Jabari’s “Ufeelme1” and not hating it. I walked in expecting absolutely nothing that hadn’t already been done in emo rap before and walked out thinking “Well at least for recycling the same tropes, they do it well.” I don’t want that to be confused with an overwhelming endorsement. It’s not. It simply means that I was impressed because I had set what I can see now were unreasonably low expectations. Now sewerperson has a new collaborator in Eric Godlow on “MUD” it’s time to see whether or not I can continue to be surprised.
“windup doll” caught me off guard by having an almost Caribbean cool in its melody and vocals, and the sudden downshift in tempo hit like “Purple Swag.” They could have just rolled with that for the whole song and I’d have been cool with it. “velvet skin” reminds me of the late Juice WRLD, who has been gone so long now I think it’s actually possible to be nostalgic for what he accomplished in his short life. I can only hope he doesn’t share Jarad’s penchant for self-medication, or at least not to his unfortunate extremes.
You know it’s a post modern emo rap release when you can finish the entire project in under a half hour, and “MUD” doesn’t disappoint in that respect. The album’s closer “from golden” is the album’s shortest track of all nine at only 1:26, and probably the one that leaves me wanting more the most. It has that Post Malone feel to it, where vocal angst meets plucked guitar strings, and it leaves you wondering how much is pitch correction and how much is sewerperson himself. I’ve reached the point where I’m convinced this is actually him. His name sounds like he’s “shit” but he’s the opposite.
I think that sewerperson is actually working on his craft and striving to improve, not simply resting on whatever laurels he already got from SoundCloud and TikTok. Good on him for that. I think the idea of working with a different producer for each album is one that will bear fruit. It will force him to keep innovating his approach to making music and not allow him to become another of the shameless emo clones that have hit the scene in Biblical flood-like proportions. Keep up the good work sewer because to me at least you don’t stink.