Patreon supporters received access to this write-up on November 7th, 2024.

This album appears to be the second of four projects from Qundalini KIDO that were uploaded to DSP’s this year. I was a little lost when trying to decide which release to check out, but this is the one that KIDO recommended directly to me. It came out on February 2nd this year, and is about fourteen minutes long. There are ten tracks here, and all of them are very brief—the longest one is still under two minutes. This was my first time hearing a full project from him, so I went into it with no expectations.

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Since this isn’t a full review I’m just gonna be talking about my favorite tracks. Qundalini KIDO is an MC from Detroit who is clearly very inspired by Mavi and adjacent artists. That’s been an incredibly trendy style for at least half a decade at this point, and I have admittedly grown pretty tired of it. I think this specific example of it is pretty well executed though. The first highlight I wanna mention is called Choose Sides. I don’t know who produced this track in particular—or any of the tracks for that matter—but this beat is really good. It’s definitely a familiar style, but it’s really well done. This song, and all the others on this album, just consists of one verse. The songwriting is incredibly straightforward throughout this entire project, and this song is no exception. The verse is really good though, so that’s what makes the track worth returning to. He kinda locks into one specific flow and rhyme scheme for the whole verse, and I think I would’ve dug it more if that wasn’t the case. Some variety would go a long way to make this more memorable. With that said, the lyricism is really dope to me.

I hope my Ahki know the way I put my faith in him
I'm mixin' coke inside the 'yak we gotta stay lifted
I'm never off inside the mix but I'm okay with it
We rollin' grabba, need the leaf, and get a grape Swisher

Despite my critique of the flow, I would actually say it’s a major selling point for the track. Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s a very good flow. I just think he could’ve added more on top of it to flesh out the song more. Overall, this is a really dope track.

The following track, No More, is even better to me. I think this one has one of the best instrumentals on the album. Again, the lyrics themselves are the only thing that really make this unique. However, even the lyrical themes are pretty similar to other artists in this lane. It’s just really well executed.

Just another puff to get me through the end of days
My anxiety is strong, feel like I'm in a cave
The rights of passage got me puffin' on this Mary Jane
I know that help is not enough to put the nic' away

This is super well done, and it takes a lot of skill to be able to do this. I just feel like I’ve heard it before. I still like this a lot though. I really love the themes of addiction on this track. As someone who is addicted to marijuana, I felt a lot of what was being said here. The truth is marijuana was actually making my anxiety way worse without me even realizing. Anyway, this is another really dope track. Like I said, I like it even more than the preceding song.

Tooth Ache has an even better instrumental than the last one. It feels more upbeat, and generally very cheerful. I honestly love this beat. A lot of the lyricism on this project revolves around anxiety and depression, which is sadly something that seems to be very prevalent for my generation. Y’all already know how familiar I am with that, and it’s painful to see so many other people dealing with similar struggles that I went through, albeit for different reasons.

Fallin' deep into the pit, pop another Xan
My anxiety'll win if I let it land
Hold his hand to his mouth, he won't talk again
Tooth achin' like a bitch with the Orajel
Throw my lover in a ditch, get her in the mornin'
Writing raps at my apartment, my creations soarin'
Held the dagger to my heart, all this blood pourin'
Sacrificin' shit for art, but the product borin'
Voices travel in my mind like a fuckin' tourist
My vocabulary large, KIDO like thesaurus
I don't like this shit a lot, I'ma write some more shit
Tryna stick to the rules like a fuckin' Mormon
You ain't that important
We'll get you knocked off with a little torture
They gon' praise me when I'm gone, you can call me Horus
Put the money in the bag, KIDO do extortion

Xanax is a scary drug to me. I’ve seen firsthand what it does to people, and I am never putting myself in that position. I’m not tryna preach to y’all though, so I’ll just move on to the next track. This is a really dope song though.

Track 6 is called Grape Jelly, and it has one of the jazziest beats on the album. This one’s really nice because the flow is a little different from that of the preceding material. The lyrics are pretty cool too.

Two step in portions, see you in the mornin'
Runnin' like I'm forest, I need more controllin'
In the middle of the night my body do contortions
I just ache and rise in pain, I'm siftin' through emotions
Cloudy like the forecast, but my mind been rollin'
I just got a little bread and grape jelly Forces
Save me from extortion, I been drinkin' potions
Readin' books to get me hooked, I think I need some Motrin

I feel like I haven’t taken Motrin since I was in high school, but that’s neither here nor there. Again, as far as song structure goes, this is exactly the same as every other track. I just really like the instrumental, and I think KIDO sounds good over it. The writing is good too. It’s another really entertaining track to me.

The following track is called Big Jam. I don’t know if the the Jelly song leading into the Jam song was intentional, but it is something I noticed. The beat here is pretty awesome honestly, and I really dig KIDO’s performance. This is one of the shorter songs on the album, but I think it has some of the best writing.

How many times you wait lookin' for a different fate?
How many gone days lookin' for a bigger date?
How many times you ate searchin' for a bigger plate?
I pushed the sun away knowin' that the stars adjacent
This not no Tarantino film, we not The Hateful 8
Too many niggas in the field and threw their life away
So many people died hopin' for a shiny place
Just give my mind a break, anxiety—it got me racin'

Since the structure is identical to that of every other track, there’s not much for me to break down here. The lyricism is on par with everything else on the album. Again, the writing is ostensibly fueled by anxiety and depression. I remember when I interviewed MC Paul Barman while I was psychotic. I told him I was mentally ill, and revealed to him that I basically believed my entire generation and every following generation was becoming more and more prone to mental illness. His response was, “dang.” Again, I was psychotic, so I didn’t think about how scary that statement must have been, especially to a father. I kinda still believe that though. However, I must say that it’s based on absolutely no research. It’s just the perception I’ve formed by talking to people around me. It seems like pretty much every person I speak to suffers from depression. I guess birds of a feather flock together. Anyway, I’m digressing again. This song is really dope overall though. I really dig it.

The last song I wanna talk about is the closing track, Sweet Jesus. To be honest, I think this is the best track on the album. I really love this instrumental, and KIDO sounds great over it. This one sounds more like Earl than Mavi to me. That probably means nothing to people who aren’t hardcore fans of that style because people already call Mavi an Earl clone, but if you know you know. The subtle differences are there. Anyway, unless I’m mistaken, this is the only track with a hook. I couldn’t even tell that there was a hook here at first because he doesn’t really do anything to separate it from the verse sonically. It’s still pretty dope though.

Angels after demons, they be fighting in my head
I just need some peace of mind, some lightin' at the end of the tunnel, I was scared
And sweatin' in my hands, prayin' one day they gon' save me from this treachery of man
We just livin' off the land, I'm doin' what I can
These packs of cigarettes'll be what turns me to a man
This pack of Nicorette'll be what save me in the end
Take me from the rainy days, it's cloudy over here
We just get it how we live, been tryna get ahead
I don't pay no mind to the monster under bed
It be monsters in my mind tryna take over the plans
Depression is a mask

Despite this album just feeling like a collection of verses over a tapestry of lo-fi instrumentals, this song in particular feels like a fitting closer. I think it’s a dope conclusion to the record.

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^{This is a pretty good album. I definitely have some major critiques and suggestions for future releases, but overall I enjoyed it. There’s not a single track here that I would say isn’t good. At worst this album is very solid. However, I can definitely see how people who are more familiar with underground Hip Hop might write this project off because it’s far from original. I have heard countless albums that sound exactly like it. I recently stated on Twitter that I believe MIKE is the most influential artist in the underground for my generation. This is a perfect example of that. There are a lot of “Earl clones” in the underground, and Qundalini KIDO is no exception. The only thing that really separates him right now is the lyrics themselves. They’re specific to him, and nobody else has rapped these lyrics before, so that’s where I find appreciation in it. Also, as far as Earl & MIKE babies go, you could find a lot worse versions than KIDO. I’d say the most similar artist to him sonically is early Mavi. With my critique of the originality or lack thereof also comes a complaint about the songwriting and brevity. This project feels more like a mixtape than anything because it’s a collection of dope verses over pretty nice instrumentals. If you’re a fiend for this sound you’ll dig it, but jaded listeners who want something more unique will likely be uninterested. Since the verses are so well executed, I was able to enjoy this project. I think the most important thing to take into consideration at this point is KIDO’s age and experience. He’s really just getting started, and he’s already showing a lot of skill, so I look forward to witnessing the growth. It’s a good album.}

Favorite Song: Sweet Jesus
Least Favorite Song: Soapy Water

B-