A Deep Dive Into The Newest Father EP: Hu$band

In early October, the rapper, internet personality, and founder of Awful Records, Father, dropped an EP titled Hu$band. Throughout the month, it made noise all around the underground rap scene. His unique and nasally voice, creative one-liners, and comical lyrics have engaged and mezmorized listeners. While many may find his music annoying or uneducated, I love it. I have been listening to Father since Playboi Carti was with Awful Records, but have never really been fully gravitated to his music. That was until I listened to his most recent album - Awful Swim. This album is funny, hard-hitting, and has so many unforgettable lyrics. Since this album, I have been thirsty for a new project. My thirst was quenched on October 9th when Father dropped Hu$band. 

The EP follows a theme; it is essentially a hurricane of funny ass lyrics and the always entertaining voice of Father. I loved every second of the project. Instrumentally, the EP is overflowing with sweet, high-pitched chimes and perfectly-timed bass drops. His nasally, mellow voice juxtaposing with the high chimes really enhance every track while still staying true to Father’s distinct style. Each song on the EP (besides “Handful”) has chimes or at least some sort of high-pitched piano chords present.

The instrumentals aren't even the tip of the iceberg. The lyrics on this EP are absurd! From “Drakeo like a slytherin”, to “she keep asking what the fuck I'm getting into, bitch in my feelings”, the bars entertain the listener and make you chuckle. Every time you listen, you find a new creative line that makes you wonder how you didn’t catch it before. 

Every single track gives you a sense of joy and a different comedic aspect to take in. The storm of sweet synths start to brew with the first track “Joestar”, a simple high-pitched guitar sample provides a sick build-up to the track. From the beginning, the strings dominate the track and leave you anxious, wondering when the drop will hit. Then… it hits you. A sick bass drop is followed by a faster-paced chorus filled with drug references, hard flexes, and designer clothing. The guitar strings sound like something that would be in a Lil Tracy song, with a mix of future bass patterns. Father continues the theme in the next song “Hexes” where he uses squeaky piano chords instead of a high-pitched guitar sequence; the piano dominates the track. On a micro-level, he uses a very delayed flow that meshes with the beat perfectly. His simple stutters and pauses create colossal build-up and show how advanced his flow is. After Father’s verse, there is a slight, glossy beat change during the last quarter of the song which features Meltycanon. When the beat changes, it becomes an auto-tuned R&B song and closes the song fittingly. 

We reach the eye of the storm when Father switches the direction on the next track “Handful”, and gives us a grimy, distorted, and bass-boosted track. During the chorus, Father’s voice is the squeakiest on the whole EP and really switches over to a new lane. This track is placed in the middle, which is definitely questionable as it distracts the listeners from the theme. Although it seems to  be an outlier, the track is much needed because it displays Father’s extreme versatility.

On the next song, the storm comes back into full force when the song “ICEMAN” plays. The song does follow the theme, but encapsulates a more sorrowful tone. The piano chords in this track remind me of Ameer Vann’s “I’m Sorry”. Although the instrumentals are very sad, Father is not. The chorus is fast-paced and has so many flexes. I really enjoy the approach Father took on the chorus as it contrasts the anguish instrumental. The next track “a lot on ur plate” transitions from somber to enchanting. The instrumental has a luscious, low-mixed background vocal that compliments the delicious chimes. One part of the track that really caught my attention was when Father says the hilarious bar “my therapist just had a break-through”. The satire of the lyrics aren’t even the best part of the song. During this line, the beat halts to a slight pause when he says “break through”. It might not be that noticeable to some, but the slight pause makes the drop even more energetic. These smooth, uncomplicated nuances drive the song to excellence. 

Zack Fox

The last and final track of the EP deserves its own damn paragraph. “Family Functions” is the best, funniest, most creative and intense record on the whole EP. Zack Fox (yeah, the comedian who made a song with Kennybeats) provided a fire feature. This man is not even a rapper, but he's funny and lowkey has hella bars. “Bitch, I came a long way from stealing v-necks out of Target”, and “I'm 'bout to hit the club and do some shit to get my ass whooped” are just a few of the comical bars in Zack’s miniscule verse. The conciseness of the verse makes it so much more powerful and overall, completely changes the dynamic of the track. 

This EP finishes at a compact 15 minutes. Although some of you may not be enticed to go look at something that is only 15 minutes, I beg of you to give it a listen. The shortness of the EP won’t take much time off your hands and if you like it, you can “run that back Turbo”.  This project will give you a few laughs, some beautiful and cheery instrumentals, and just something to go out and dance to. Well, that’s all I got. Peace!!