January 22nd 2021 marks the release date of the sophomore album from the Long Island based singer/producer Guccihighwaters. For those unfamiliar with his music, Guccihighwaters released his first album entitled post death back in 2017 and started growing in popularity within the emo-rap underground. Songs such as ‘i’m so sick of this’ and ‘i thought i died inside’ are racking up the streams on Spotify with nearly 60 million between the two of them and I’m certain joke’s on you will have very similar or even greater success.
Back in 2019 it was announced that Guccihighwaters had signed with the legendary Epitaph records, joining a star studded cast including bands such as Bad Religion and A Day To Remember. It certainly appears that Epitaph are taking a new direction with the artists they are signing as Guccihighwaters is just one of a few artists from the emo-trap scene they have signed recently, and with the amount of success they are having, I’m sure they won’t be the last.
This album also has some excellent featured artists showcasing their talent. One of the biggest names in the genre Nothing, Nowhere brings his own unique voice and flow alongside Guccihighwaters on the track ‘rock bottom’. For me this track stands out the brightest amongst the others as it brings a catchy hook, a guitar sample that is as moreish as a packet of Starburst and a recognisable audio sample before the beat drops. For these reasons and more I foresee this track having plenty of pop appeal.
The next track on the album is the remix of ‘highschool’. The original song was released back in 2019 and this time California based emo rapper Convolk joins the party. Convolk screams in this track with an unprecedented lack of warning, and completely switches up the style of the track. The only time I’ve heard this done before is on the song ‘Wasted’ by the late Juice Wrld featuring Lil Uzi Vert. Convolk does however calm down after a few bars and his soothing singing voice acts as some Vitamin E cream for your eardrums.
Other notable mentions from the album are ‘lovesick’ featuring Ellise, who brings the only female voice to the album, and track 5 ‘sometimes’, which switches up towards the end of the song and brings what feels like a hidden track vibe to a 3:08 second song.
All-in-all I think this album is a fantastic step forward for Guccihighwaters and the emo-rap scene as a whole. Personally, I cannot wait to see what the other emo rappers signed to Epitaph have to release in the future.
joke’s on you is out now via Epitaph Records.
Review by Kane McEvoy
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