Everybody Around Pseudo Keeps Fallin' Six Feet Deep

What's up, gang?  I know it's been a little while since my last post.  I wound up taking a few unexpected sick days this holiday season.  But the good news is that I've spent the time building up a list of topics I'm excited to write (and vlog) about this year.  So let's jump right into it!  For the belated start of our new year, how about one... none of you were waiting for?  😝

No, but stick with me here.  This is an interesting one.  Remember Pseudonym, the indie Ohio MC whose early tapes I wrote about in 2019?  I capped that off by saying how he'd just signed to Hardcore Rap 4 Life, an interesting outfit dedicated to hardcore (naturally) Onyx-style 90s boom-bap throwback stuff.  Yeah, the weird long-haired dude with the crayon-style album covers, a pretty weird fit.  Imagine if The Geto Boys had replaced Willie D with D-Mob & Cathy Dennis instead of Big Mike.  So, come on.  You've gotta be at least a little but curious, right?  Well, he hooked me up with that album and his two subsequent EPs, catching us up with his full discography to the present, so we can find out what that's like.

To be fair, this step isn't 100% out of left field.  He came out dissing wack MCs pretty aggressively on his previous tapes.  And the fact that he rocked his own mini version of Ultramagnetic's "Chorus Line," over the original beat, shows he's clearly got not just an appreciation for classic boom-bap, but a willingness to dive in.

So 2019's Frustration, we're told in the intro, is an expression of our joint frustration (naturally) with the world.  And in his case, particularly the music industry.  It's almost entirely produced by Blowin Up Beats (the three skits are handled by Tobe Donahue), the label's house producer, and he has definitely perfected a consistent, aggressive old school sound.  My favorite track on this album is "Tight," which utilizes Diamond D's funky little "Soul Clap" horn with deep, bassy piano notes, hard drums, and some nice cuts by DJ Etch, from Pseudo's last tape.  Blowin Up really does capture, across all his releases, that 90s vibe, I have to hand it to him.

And how does Pseudo sound on it?  Not bad.  He definitely throws himself in with full gusto and absolute commitment.  His eclectic delivery always called for a lot of energy, and you all that energy to live up to these tracks.  That said, I remember saying he sometimes sounded a little overwrought on his previous EP, and that's all the more case here.  All the complaints about not being a celebrated MC, like "wackness gets negated when I've got a million styles just waiting to be demonstrated.  But nobody wants to hear 'em," "living in a city where the ego outweighs the talent," and so on just aren't that sympathetic.

And a few over-the-top bits will have your eyes rolling: "in fact, I caught a motherfucker last night, talked a lot of shit and couldn't handle the fist fight.  Took a blade to his skull and now he's got no eyesight.  Leave the cracker brain-dead with multiple stab wounds to the head.  Enough said."  Or the skit where a demon voice is telling him to kill.  There's a horrorcore influence that just feels like the wrong direction for Pseudo to have gone in after "Super-Ego."  The songs where he's just freestyling, following a flow rather than a strict topic, like "Hardcore Shit" or "Who Wants It," sound better.  Then you can just nod away to an MC spitting fast and hard over a tight track without any awkward bumps.

Ultimately, it was an interesting experiment, but I think I'm glad the Hip Hop 4 Life time is over.  Though he didn't totally find his ideal lane immediately after.  The title of 2022's Cartoonish In Nature certainly suggests a dramatic 180 from Frustrated.  And guess who has a guest spot on here?  Kwest tha Madd Lad!  The whole EP's a collaboration with a producer named Kilroywash3r3, and he does a good job coming up with a creative and varied soundscape that better suits Pseudo.  As a whole, though, this EP sounds a little adrift... like they said, we can say anything on here, so why not just say anything?  It kind of reminds me of that period when Eminem and Nicki Minaj just started arbitrarily rapping in faux British accents.  "Obtuse" is a reflective and melodic opening where the two really blend well.  Then "Psycho Losing His Shit" is like a hold over from Frustrated that goes even further:

"It's a tragedy, like when I survived my abortion.
Born to bring an end of the Earth in epic proportions.
Yo, you want problems, we can settle them like men:
Smash each other with rocks until our worlds cave in.
Take ya back to the beginning when I didn't know shit;
Now I've hit my rise; and all the hipster girls are on my dick.
Fuck a trendsetter.  Give me five minutes, he'll be a blood-letter.
Then I'll write a letter to his grandmother requestin' a new sweater.
Shit ain't a game, people do anything for the fame,
Endure the fucking flames before their lives go down the drain.
Thinking homicidal shit 'cause I ain't got a damn thing to lose;
Cooking culture vultures stewed with their blue suede shoes.
All battered and bruised, killed 'em all 'cause I hate to choose,
What's the fucking use if all it does is leave us broke?"

The old school horror movie organs and Just-Ice scratches on this song are dope, but lyrically, oof.

Big correction 5/14/24: As you can see in the comments below, I misheard the lyrics, thinking "all battered and bruised, killed 'em all 'cause I hate to choose," was "all battered and bruised, kill 'em all 'cause I hate the Jews."  The correct version is better in a lot of ways - i.e. it just makes more logical sense.  But also, obviously, because what I thought I heard would've been in pretty poor taste, which in fact, I proceeded to take him to task for.  I did also say, "I think it's safe to assume he's just playing an outrageous character for shock value, as the title suggests, and not an actual Nazi looking to spread propaganda.  In other songs he's called himself the Marquis de Sade, talked about stomping crews to goo, and all sorts of the usual Hip-Hop wylin'."  But still, I'm relieved to know it was all my embarrassing error and Pseudo's lyrics were completely above my reproach.

Let's move on.  Kwest sounds fresh as ever, and he has fun mixing Spanish into his verse and dropping silly punchlines.  There's another guest on here, named TINO, who flips a tight, bouncy style, too.  Kilroy's tracks are fresh and low-key that consistently compliment Pseudo.  I wasn't a fan of the love song on this EP, but the instrumental worked.  And "Leave 'Em Wanting More" ends things on a charming note that does what it promises.

I could end this piece here, but Pseudo's already come out with another EP for 2023, so let's me thorough.  It's called Moments Like This... It's more of a maxi-single (like his earlier tapes) at just four songs, one of which is only 90 seconds.  It's all produced by CJ Satellite, a producer from Massachusetts.  The opening instrumental is unusual and pretty great, bringing to mind the best parts of Pseudo's early work.  Delivery-wise, he's mellowed out a bit, but I'm feeling the substance of his lyrics more, and he still flexes a quick, dexterous flow on "Never Do It Again."  I think we saw Pseudonym wander off the path there, but now he's back on it.

You can get all his CDs and tapes on his bandcamp, except Frustrated, which is still available through Hardcore Rap 4 Life's.

Something Different

Remember when I wrote about the debut release of a newcomer Ohio MC named Pseudonym?  Well, he's back with what he calls his debut EP; but at three songs, I'd really qualify it as a second single.  Anyway, it's called Caught In a Deep Thought, and this time he's coming with production entirely by Joey Beach.

The opening track, "Factory-Made (That's the Shit)," has a weird slow groove to it, and his delivery is so off the wall, when I first put the tape in, I thought it was dragging, and I had to search out an online clip to make sure that's how it's supposed to sound.  But that probably makes it sound like this is awful, right?  It's not, the track has a nice DITC-inspired feel to it, actually, but with a more live feel (indeed, a lot, if not all, of the instrumentation is being played live here) with a jazzier bassline mixed with a little Dynamix II or something.  It's an effectively addictive head-nodder, and that's what counts.  And I like that Pseudonym is going for a gruffer sound than his debut.  It's very 90's in a way, particularly the shout hook and references to artists like Cool C and The Crooklyn Dodgers; but his style here, too, calls back the times when all the up and coming artists like Lords Of the Underground, the Fu-Schnickens, or Common when he was still Common Sense, were all trying to originate crazy, original flows that threw you off guard with each coming word.  Will the next syllable be a deep intonation or a high-pitch shout?  Only one way to find out.

But some of the angry aggressiveness of his flow seems like maybe he's over-correcting for the nerdcore twinge his first tape had.  Lines like "you're droppin' off like fruit flies; little motherfuckers better recognize" or "go ahead, get pissed off; I'm spittin' straight facts, bitch" ring more than a little overwrought.  I mean, giving the benefit of the doubt, I'll assume it's meant to be all part of the fun of a throwback to that particular era and style.  We can all think of some fun old records that went way over the top but still entertained (Ganksta N.I.P., anybody?).  But here it might be too many layers removed from directly connecting with an audience.  It's like trying to do a parody of a comedy: you wind up telling jokes that aren't supposed to be funny, and most people just dismiss what you're doing before you can really get them on board with the whole vision.  If I throw on a new tape, do I want to hear lines where I'm not supposed to believe the tough talk?

"Sometimes..." slows it down a bit, and again, I said to myself "okay, now this time the tape's dragging" and I had to check it online again.  The instrumental's well constructed but a little dull and doesn't marry so well with the sung chorus and playful raps.  Part of it might just be a mixing thing, with the lead guitar loop constantly competing with the main vocals.  Anyway, it's not un-interesting, and Pseudo settles more naturally into the groove by the second or third verse, but I don't expect I'll go back to this cut after I've finished this review.  The final track on the other hand, "A Friendly Reminder," is the stand-out, with some funky production with some kind of surf music riff, charmingly chintzy horns and appealing cuts by DJ Etch on the hook.  And where the other two songs are just your basic, "I'm not regal, but it's been twenty years since I've had an equal"-style skill flexing, this one has a clever and engaging concept where your brain is checking in with you for a little reflection:

"Don't let life be the downer at your party.
Also, give me some stimulaaaation;
These Instagram pages are just imitation.
Read a book, have some sex, do what the fuck it takes.
I'm so damn bored; that's why I put your life at stake."

That's just good writing!  There's talent evident throughout the whole "EP," and in general I think I like the direction he's heading in, but he takes a lot of risks.  This is the song where they pay off.

Like "Edible MC's," the digital options for Caught In a Deep Thought are a lot easier to find, but the cassette (program repeats on both sides) is coming out on the same label, Vestibular Records, and should be available to purchase on their bandcamp and discogs listing soon.  His full-length, Frustrated, is due out later on Hardcore Rap 4 Life... if you've heard of Caligula, yeah, it's that label.  Anyway, Cal caught a little flack on the DWG forums recently, but I thought his stuff sounded pretty decent.  Pseudo seems oddly mismatched for that roster, though, so that should be interesting.  And in the meantime, he's also got a crazy low-fi freestyle tape called Motion Of the Ocean that's fairly amusing.  So if this is the first you're hearing about him, Caught may not be the ideal moment to jump onto the Pseudonym train.  But if you're already on board, you're sure to find more to like here.

Someone New To Bite

Today we have something new by someone new.  "Edible MC's" is the debut cassingle by an Ohio MC named Pseudonym on Vestibular Records.  If you've never heard of them, that's because this is apparently the label's first venture into the Hip-Hop genre, while generally specializing in... rock, I guess?  A lot of new music and a few vintage reissues from what I've gathered through a quick perusal.

But that fits, because Pseudo definitely seems like the kind of artist who could impress an outsider label to add them to their non-genre roster.  You know, like when Warner Bros mainstream reissued all of Buck 65's catalog, Madonna signed Dana Dane and had him do a west coast album, or whenever Luke Sick syncs up with those random little punk outfits.  Or, for a less glamorous example, when Load Records picked up The Hawd Gankstuh Rappuhs Emsees Wid Ghatz' second album long after the joke was played out for us heads.  You know, those certain, rare instances where an artist who comes with a spin far enough out of left field that they attract the "ordinarily, I hate rap, buttt..." types.  That can be promising, a huge red flag, or just about anywhere in between.

Vocally, he lists Del as an influence, and you can definitely hear the commonality in the way he thoughtfully executes his heavily-enunciated delivery to nail keywords.  Still, he's got a voice and a style that will surely prove divisive, split right along the point where he does/ doesn't remind you too much of MC Paul Barman.  His register playfully rises and falls from phrase to phrase, placing perhaps an overemphasis on his own cleverness.  But when he's flowing at his most aggressive, he rides the rhythm more like Edan or Breeze.  A little less nerdcore would go a long way, but even nay-sayers will have to begrudgingly give it up for his carefully crafted bars.

And anyway, he never really descends into that Catskills punchline schtick.  There are a couple on-the-nose similes on the A-side ("I'm comin' outta left field like YAGGFU Front," "punks get slapped like hockey pucks"), but it's mostly just fun wordplay.  Like here you see him handily illustrate his "Edible MC's" concept with a tight rhyme scheme:

"I'm irate!
You cut-rate fakes get sliced to pieces,
At least this kid will make a neat dish
Of your brain matter and shatter your name and fame.
You regain consciousness in the afterlife.
Pass me my carving knife, so I can cut 'em slower.
The body roaster makin' human skin loafers;
I got meats for weeks from these MCs left over."

And the possibly even tighter B-side, "Super Ego," drops the similes entirely.  Like its title suggests, it's pure braggadocio (there's a particularly effective line he flips in the style of Akinyele) over a killer, fast-paced beat, heavy on the snare and rolling piano samples.  Except they're not even samples.  His bio mentions the music is created from all live instruments, which you wouldn't even guess from listening to it; it certainly doesn't have that messier, live band feel.  I've been deliberating over the pros and cons of his vocals, but it's his production, done by himself and Nathan Peters, that's especially impressive and what straight-up grab you as soon as you hit play (and yes, the instrumental versions of both songs are also on the tape).  Also, they're used fairly subtly, but there's also some nice cuts on "Edible MC's" by a DJ named Fatty Lumpkin.


Of course there's a digital option, but if you've found yourself here, hopefully that suggests you still care about physical media.  The cassingle is a blue tape in a full color J-card.  The download card includes a bonus track where Pseudo freestyles over Ultramagnetics' "Chorus Line."  It seems to already be sold out on Vestibular's site, or they just never listed it in the first place(?  They do things a little strangely; I can't really figure 'em out), but they're still selling it direct on discogs for just five bucks.  So if reading some of the artists I referenced has you saying, "I know I'm gonna hate this," you're probably right and Pseudo won't be for you.  But if you're open at all, give the kid a chance.  I think you'll be impressed.