Throughout the last year, many people have been stripped of something very important to them. It can cheer them up when they've had a bad day or it can alter their perspective on an absurd issue, leaving them questioning their own beliefs. This very art form is stand-up comedy. There is nothing like absorbing the laughter of a crowd and watching a comedian kill it on stage. This chaotic and ecstatic atmosphere is something that cannot be replicated.
Throughout the pandemic, this art form has been shoved away until the guaranteed safety of the people. Since it's been gone, comedy fans have looked far and long for ways to possibly reach the same serotonin threshold and mimic the atmosphere. Fans like me have tried podcasts, reruns, and even old interviews to reach this same pleasure but it sadly never does this. I mean, podcasts are funny in your free time and interviews are informative, but that blissful aroma and collective harmony between strangers is unattainable in the confinements of your home.
Even though I have tried and tried again, the only thing that has really made me feel this type of energy is a fantastic comedy album. Since I have an immense and obsessive love for music and a dying need for comedy, this has been the only creative medium that has made my body react the same. Musical comedians like Bo Burnham and Nick Thune practically create comedy albums during their sets, and their projects are musical albums as well. So while listening to albums like this, I engulf myself in the rhetoric and vernacular and visualize every single line being said in the song. My facial structures mold into a constant and never-ending smile matched with rhythmic head bobs.
The ability to add hilarious one-liners with a nice synth pattern or a few acoustic guitar strings is something to be worshiped. To create a cohesive comedy song — let alone an album — is a difficult feat and takes not only musical prowess but the ability to be comically skilled on top of that. Even though Burnham and Thune are immensely talented, the type of music they make simply isn’t my favorite type of music. I am a rap aficionado at heart — always have been and always will be. So even though I enjoy listening to those comedians, a rap-comedy void has always been left inside of me.
It's always great to hear a scraped together, unmixed, borderline-freestyle-screamfest your high school friends made in the local library studio that gives you a chuckle or to hear an outlandish Lil B or Young Thug quote, but to find a high-quality comedy rap song is something hard to come by. It just hasn’t been there.
I thought this combination would never exist until that joyous day on April 26, 2019 when critically acclaimed producer Kenny Beats threw comedian/art designer/Twitter legend Zack Fox on an episode of the freestyle gauntlet Youtube series The Cave. Zack Fox took comedy and rap (with a little Southern influence as well) to a whole other level and intermixed the two art forms into a unique subgenre of rap. After that episode, his freestyle would be played for TikTok lovers and comedy fans all around the world to hear. “Jesus is the One (I Got Depression)” has amassed over 36 million Spotify streams and even the Genius video has blown up for millions of views.
Ever since the drop, fans all around the rap community have been begging for a Zack Fox album. A blow-up like this is every up-and-coming artist's dream — but not for Zack. In podcasts and interviews, Zack expressed the importance of singles rather than albums and talked about how making an album wasn’t on the top of his priorities. Evolving his stand-up and creating obscure and appealing visuals to his singles have been on the top of his list. So as I cried laughing listening to his singles and two-song EPs, I wondered if our ears would ever be lucky enough to hear a debut Zack Fox album.
Lo and behold, after two years and some change (and one of the sneakiest album rollouts I had ever seen), shut the fuck up talking to me is finally here. When my brother delivered the news while my sad mind watched the disgusting Dodgers beat the Giants, my entire mood flipped on itself, and nothing but pure joy emitted from my soul.
So, like always, I threw that sucker on the speakers at my house and played it on repeat until my brain couldn’t analyze it any further. Sitting at a tight nine songs over twenty minutes, this album is a quick but outstanding listen nonetheless. The one great thing about listening to a comedy album is that you do not have to look for some thematic congruence in the album, but rather direct your full attention to the lyrics of the song and dial in line-by-line. The last line you heard will pass as quickly as the next, so the lyrics should be your full focus when going into it.
Okay, enough of my mammoth intro and context you need going into the album, how was it? After fully digesting the album, the first thing I noticed was the fantastic lyrics, specifically double entendres. Zack has always been known for great one-liners, whether it is his specials or his rap songs. You could literally make an encyclopedia of bars just from this one album that makes you laugh at a higher rate than any comedian known to man. One bar after the other just churn your stomach with laughter. “Sixth grade I was gettin' top at the recess / High school, had a white bitch like Regis.” “You could tell I was a menace by the grimace in my baby pictures, Atlanta n**** until the death of me, Afro grown, shirt open like it's the 70s.” “Drip like Alex Mack, I spent them racks and turn to fluid (Wet), Pockets looking nauseous, blowing money like it's mucus.” I mean… C’MON!! These bars are just a tiny nugget of what to expect when you listen to the album. Zack simply is one of the best wordsmiths in the game right now and somehow can make his music sound hilarious and hard at the same damn time. It doesn’t matter what flow or beat he is given; he will simply deliver.
On top of some cold verses, Zack does a great job of curating choruses that are smooth, short, and sweet. They do not need to exceed more than four lines, yet they can have the replay value of a chorus on the latest Billboard Top 100 pop song. Zack does a good job of making the chorus snappy and unforgettable at such a stout length. They have the length of a hook, but resonate with the listener as hard as a chorus. These puzzle piece combinations fit snug and really give the one-to-two-minute comedy classics a presence that will last for years to come.
But any no-name rapper can be a one-hit-wonder and try to ride off that fame for the rest of their career. Usually, the connections with producers will fizzle out and your output of music will really reflect your music creativity. So, how does Zack distance himself from the pack? Even before his debut, he was working with some of the best producers in the game like Kenny Beats and blaccmass. These producer connections have always been there, and he upgraded harder than ever before with this upcoming album. Even though he has worked with BNYX of Working on Dying before, BNYX executive produced the entire album, and even the immortal and assiduous producer The Alchemist produced the closer/self-titled track on the album (and by the way, the closer is the magnum opus of the album and hits in every facet). These connections allow Zack to reach his full rapping potential and give him the foundation to create a fantastic track. Whether it’s the 80s synth classic “mind your business” or the chopped and uproarious “get off my dick," you know when given a beat like this, Zack is gonna kill it.
When these three ingredients come together, an enjoyable listen is on the way and happy aesthetics are coming your way. Zack demolishes these tracks and continues to push the boundaries of comedy and rap together. shut the fuck up talking to me blends these two art forms in a way not many people have seen before. As Zack drops more and more music, rap listeners from all corners of the globe should sit down and listen. It‘s guaranteed to boost your mood if you’re down and open your eyes to your great wordplay. Zack is one of the best doing it right now, and you’re sleeping on true creativity if you don’t listen to his music. Well, that’s all I got. PEACE!!
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