sleep paralysis: a review
As a Chattanooga-born rapper, the bloodline of Three 6 Mafia seeps into the fabric of Bbymutha’s music. The deep horror movie influence on early Memphis rap is translated into this ominous sonic abyss she creates on her newest album, sleep paralysis. Releasing Friday April 19th, the sophomore LP delivers new layers of performance and experiments even further with her alternative sound, her cadence switches, and her darker imagery. Fused with a bit of punk, UK-grunge and house, producers such as Foisey, Bon Music Vision, and Kilder come together to paint a fantastic new sonic landscape for her — more hectic and haunting, more electronic and gritty.
The album feels like the loudest inescapable nightmare, layered with verbose instrumentation and a more garage-type sound. The drums are so interesting throughout the album, really showing out on songs like “lines”. Something in her sound has been turned up a few notches. While Bbymutha stays in the pocket, sleep paralysis finds her bending and stretching her delivery in ways I love. “rich” feels so space-y and electric, but her twang and this country cadence still comes straight through. Every time she raps she’s experimenting with it, just to see where the song goes.
sleep paralysis truly is the culmination of her best work. The colorful album art directly references her childhood, where she first struggled with sleep paralysis. And as dark as the album feels, it’s still quite colorful in sound. Each song is colored with a different hue of dusk. There’s spooky sonic undertones coupled with braggadocious and sexy lyrical overtones. Made for the people who grew up loving Gangsta Boo and La Chat, and liked dressing a little bit goth. I think that’s the best way to describe why I love Bbymutha’s music. She remains wickedly colorfully, and flavorfully dark.
“She remains wickedly colorfully, and flavorfully dark.”
She experiments without settling into a cliche. She’s proven that her creativity knows no bounds. She’s one of the only rappers right now that’s constantly putting out that much new AND different music. She adventures into new territory and always lands on a beautiful new discovery of self and sound. With this being her full-length debut with independent label True Panther Records, sleep paralysis forces people to move away from her past selves and receive her as she is now. Whether you call her Muthaleficent, Big Mutha, or Cindyy Kushh, these b*tches need to be scared of her!
My Top Songs (but i really like them all)
- lines
- ghostface
- gun kontrol
- rich
Catch her at Subterranean on April 26, the Chicago stop on her 25-date Sleep Paralysis Tour. Go out and get your tickets! Follow Bbymutha on Bandcamp, and continue to support fantastic indie artists who really push the culture forward.
