"Playing with your parts hopping in and out the friendzone..."
Father really ain’t shit, y'all. He went on tour, dropped this chill ass 12-track album appropriately titled Who's Gonna Get Fucked First? on the interwebs last week, and did not run any of this by me...'cause we were totes besties back in two years from now.
If hip hop were a high school cafeteria, Father, also known as Fatheraintshit, would be four blocks away rolling spliffs and talking anime with chemistry wiz unicorn babes, and Who's Gonna Get Fucked First? would probably be a part of the soundtrack to that magical session. The Atlanta-based rapper and producer is working overtime, carving out his own lane in hip-hop with the rest of Awful Records, wearing nothing (you so nasty) but a bomber jacket, a bucket hat and some slide-ons; and, with this playful, raunchy and yet familiarly conflicted album, it sounds like he’s having a blast doing it. The cover artwork, designed by Bootymath (lol), features Dad biting the bikini bottoms off of a high yellar shorty. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, the opening line to the title track, produced by none other than Father himself, is rapped to the tune of that old mockingbird lullabye and goes something like, “Hush little shorty, don’t say a word. Father’s gonna buy you a fat sack of herb.” If you are not compelled to continue listening at this point, you can’t sit with us. He raps, “Smoked the pills to coke, youth in revolt. Stuff you use to cope. Just hand me a rope cuz I'm stressed and depressed…” and, I’m like “OMG me too, Dad!” Okay, not really, but still like omergosh he totally gets it.
Not venturing too far from his bread and butter, the Father of Generation X hypnotizes with his standard vulgar (albeit clever) wordplay over electro-hip hop infused, bass heavy minimalist beats. But, do not get it twisted! Ladies, expect to hit a slow twerk or two when tracks like "Read Her Lips" (produced by KCSB and featuring Ethereal) and "Highway 101" (produced by Father) hit the speakers. Awful guests on the album also include Abra, Richposlim, KeithCharles Spacebar, and there are even some vocals by a sultry newbie by the name of Tommy Genesis. Heavenly Father even manages to make Slug Christ sound digestible on the album-closing track Suicide Party, where he poses the weekend ritual query, “Who’s tryna die first?”
If you are not already a fan of Father, this probably won’t be the project to win you over, but go back and do your homework, children, because there be gold in them thar hills! From L1L D1DDY to Young Hot Ebony, the gems abound. This album definitely hits its target market, however, bringing more of that lazy Saturday night, living room kickback feel. Father and Awful Records, as a collective, is what happens when the social outcasts get a hold of hip-hop music. It is sort of like when you have that one group science project and all of your friends are absent on teaming day, so you get stuck with the weird, quiet kid who sits in back. You reluctantly hang out and talk for a bit, and you realize that not only is he kind of brilliant, but he’s actually pretty cool too. He’s the kid that reminds you of what individualism looks like in a sea of Air Jordan Retro Who Gives a Damns and screen-printed crop tops with high-waisted mom jeans. Dare I say, we need artists like Father to put some creativity back into the art that is hip-hop. #Relax bro, it's not necessarily history-making, but the sound and aura of his music certainly speaks to the portion of our generation where trends originate. I’m not a clairvoyant, but I foresee an age where your favorite rapper is either biting off of this guy or hitting him up for some help with production. Mark these words, kiddies. And, despite oozing originality, the rapper isn’t shy about drawing influence from rappers like Gucci, Big L and Big Pun, whose classic “Still Not A Player” can be heard on the album’s sixth track “Morena.”
The album doesn’t show a tremendous amount of growth, but it wasn’t supposed to. Get your kicks, enjoy the vibes, and remember this: Father may be one the most promising young up-and-comers in hip-hop right now, so don’t be a negative Nancy or you’ll miss out.