2018’s There’s No One New Around You was a defining statement for me but also a statement motivated entirely out of anger. The story goes, back when Tinder was in its prime, when you ran out of swipes the app would show you a pink radar with the words “there’s no one new around you”. I was single and salty, but all of that energy got forged into music. Between 2016 and 2018 I cooked up something I would describe as pop/electronically inspired (sonically) but on some sharpened sword, toxic underground rap shit (spiritually). I was happy with the music but I was really happy with the various internal themes at play. It’s about dating but it’s also a book with a fake happy ending that takes place within a 24-hour period of time. At least that’s the idea.

Feb 2018 came and went. 2019’s There’s STILL No One New Around You is a beautiful mess in my opinion. It’s over-ambitious bug theme was inspired by a radical weekend in Tahoe which involved a bunch of substances I won’t mention here. So after doing a bunch of LSD I was seeing the concept form in my head on a daily basis. Fundamentally, I felt the same, but my writing was getting better and my ear was gravitating towards stranger sounds. Yet, simultaneously at this time I also go obsessed with pop, hence the closer “Ode to Blunts (Rough)” having rough attached to it. I tried to make that track perfect but at a certain point I just had to throw in the towel. Despite a few landmines in the middle, I still love it. Full disclosure, the concept of the album was that it was supposed to be a challenge to listen to. I wanted to test myself but also give my listeners a test in what they could tolerate. Corners of my sadness had morphed into a full on paranoia. “All Eyes on T” is the best example of both of these ideas. It’s grating AND paranoid. The few times I played people the beat for “All Eyes on T” the reactions were not positive.

Alongside this aggressive notion was the concept of an insect’s cycle of life and metamorphosis. Whether or not any of that shit came across or was successful is entirely up to you. The idea was: I’ll put my favorite songs at the beginning and end and the journey between them will be this fucked up, horrifying transformation. For those not down for these lyrical trials and tribulations, track one is all you really need. “Allergies Feat. RC Digital and blessedassistant” was how that year felt.

Being a film nerd, writer and creature of habit, I knew I had to bring this trilogy to a close. Eventually, this story has to be wrapped up in a positive way. “There’s So Much New Around You” was a no brainer. My life had lead me back to Oakland and things started to get better. That was the winter of 2019, the eve before 2020 and we all what happened next, sadly. So, although I had this idea of a positive conclusion to my trilogy of sadness, the world just didn’t reflect that in any way shape or form. Priorities shifted. Family members were lost. I moved to Korea and back, twice. The change was so thorough and relentless it can only be described as spiritual. It’s only now in the trenches of 2023 do I feel ready to make the statement I’ve been contemplating but unable to honestly articulate until now. It didn’t feel right until now. Things may not be perfect, but they feel good. For the first time in almost 7 years I can say, truly, to myself. Fuck Tinder.

Thank you for listening.

There’s So Much New Around You.