Last Friday, eccentric rapper Father released his latest album, I’m A Piece of Sh*t. Father releases music via his collective label Awful Records that features artists similar to himself.
His rap career stands in parallel to the rest of his local scene in Atlanta in the way that it is almost entirely opposite to most of the popular rap that has been dropping. With his 2014 debut pretty boy satan, Father made a strong statement with the weird party mix that he produced. This release formed the base for Awful Records, which includes other underground hip-hop artists like Archibald Slim, Abra, Richposlim and Slug Christ.
In 2014, Father and Awful Records had a breakout year with his song “Look At Wrist” proving to be his first real hit. The song featured an addictive chorus and potent verses from not only Father, but ILoveMakonnen and Key! as well. “Look at Wrist” was later featured on Father’s Young Hot Ebony, an album that managed to introduce his laid-back, counterculture style to a wider audience.
In 2015, he released Who’s Gonna Get F**ked First?, a further look into the weirder side of Atlanta hip-hop. The album featured songs that proved to be funny such as “Everybody In the Club Gettin Shot”. It also included dreamy production over more reflective lyrics, which can be seen in “Slow Dance (Interlude)”.
I’m A Piece of Sh*t stands as a particularly strange release in the artist’s discography. In the lead up to the album, he mentioned that he was going through a streak of depression and using both painkillers and antidepressants. Thus, the confidence of his former releases are there but are undercut with realistic expectations. There is an apparent sadness in this album. In a way, this element is what makes it so attractive.
There’s also the general hyper-sexual vibe that any Father release contains. It doesn’t shy away from the more X-rated details.
As always, the production of the album is a strong suit, showing Father’s varied and eccentric style with a dark, brooding selection of beats.
The album’s mood is seen with the opening track, “Why Don’t U,” which features Abra and ILoveMakonnen. The track is pulled together with Abra’s hook, which features sexual moaning and the repeated mantra of “Why don’t you love me daddy?”. Though it seems shallow at first glance, once listeners get to the heart of Father’s verse in which he attempts to hit on a girl, the end result is counter to most rap songs. A few lines into his flirting, she asks him why he consistently takes Xanax.
“Cuz I fell in love with the stupor / Percocets keeping me lucid / Blackouts they give me excuses,” Father raps.
This is an introspective moment that most rappers would not partake in. It makes the song an open experience while also flipping the expectations of what has been a pretty standard rap song up until that point.
This song touches on another theme that continuously appears throughout the album: finding true love as opposed to fleeting affairs. This comes up on another highlight of the album Party on Me that also touches on the differences between one-night stands and true emotional connection in relationships.
The track features Ethereal and has a catchy hook by ILoveMakonnen that harkens back to some of the highlights of Father’s previous releases such as “Nokia” or “Look at Wrist”.
“I got caller ID / And I don’t pick up if it ain’t the guala callin’ me / Flip phone Nokia,” Father sings in
“Nokia.”
“Spit Or Swallow” is another strong track featuring the ‘90s-esque R&B stylings of Awful Records’s Micah Freeman. After his hook, the drums come into the beat much harder, leading to a slightly more energetic Father verse that results in a catchy banger and stylish send-up to the R&B rap of the ‘90s.
I’m A Piece of Sh*t is a strong album, especially when you consider the rate at which Father is releasing music. However, what sets it apart from most other releases is the vulnerable feeling that it elicits.
However, the album is held back by a few filler songs such as “Girl Fantasy 2”. The song features an introduction by female rapper Tommy Genesis and feels off-tempo from the rest of the album’s vibe. It is laid-back, but in a way that is distinctively different from the rest of the album.
This same vulnerability is what helped set apart some of the strongest albums of the past decade like good kid M.A.A.D City, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Sir Lucious Left Foot: the Son of Chico Dusty to name a few. This isn’t to say I’m A Piece of Sh*t is the best rap album that has come out this year, but it sets a solid benchmark for the midpoint of a year in music that is still trying to find its shape.
