Kevin Abstract is difficult to pin down. He's a supremely gifted rapper, yet his debut album leaned more into singing. He co-founded BROCKHAMPTON, yet the boy band's last album was pretty much a Kevin Abstract solo effort. It can be confounding to follow his career trajectory, but the unpredictability is also part of the appeal. His latest single, "DIRTY BOY SWAG," is a testament to this "anything goes" process. The rapper teams up with Quadeca for a song that recalls Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag," but gives it a grimy makeover. Hence, the revamped title. "DIRTY BOY SWAG" is the rare song that sounds exactly like its title suggests.
Kevin Abstract adopts a mumbly, borderline atonal flow for "DIRTY BOY SWAG." It sounds like he's trying to channel Soulja Boy, but also the more incomprehensible side of Lil B. The influence of the latter really shines through in the music video. Abstract is rapping in non-glamorous locations and busting out very, very awkward dance moves in the process. The sound and the aesthetic suggests a sort of intentional, one take roughness to it. "DIRTY BOY SWAG" is worlds away from the sound Abstract dropped on his debut, or his recent album, Blanket. That being said, there's something compelling about. Based God swag filtered through Abstract's sad boy energy is a hybrid that sounds better in song than it looks on paper.
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Kevin Abstract Tries A New Flow On "DIRTY BOY SWAG"
Quotable Lyrics:
After it ends, we meet up again
We playin' pretend, the stars align
Do you look down?
Just give me a chance, it's all I need