Review Summary: The psychological revolution.
There are demons or a darkness that is concealed in all of us. It is a raging fire waiting to come out bursting in flames and destroy everything in its path, whatever it may be. My hidden demons? The constant, lasting reminder that I feel certain people in my own social life don't have the same caring tendencies as I do in my heart. When California rapper G-Eazy dropped the first single off his darkest, grungy release to date with the emotive "When It's Dark Out", the self-love anthem "Me, Myself & I", it resonated in my own self when in instance it usually doesn't. The ominous, darkening atmosphere blessed with the hauntful cries from EDM vocalist Bebe Rexha in the hook to the blunt, cold lyricism dropped by Eazy himself immerses yourself into a state of self-pity, yet self-confidence that only you can change the outcome of bull*** that goes in your life. This is a grimy creeper of a project, flooded with emotion on every angle, and it brings it in droves.
The terrifying, haunting production which immerses the project is out in abundance, which is undoubtedly the highlight of the record. It's masterpiece is fronted with the thoughtful, yet colorless "What If", a diverse question-asking piece ranging to societal matters to the philosophical, going as far as into the sports realm, with G-Eazy asking what the world would do if the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl or if Kobe Bryant bailed the burning firestorm of the Lakers for a team of higher superiority like the Warriors. The icy, crackling lyricism that blares like a siren is on-point and drowning with fire and air is like a clash between the two, a lasting blend that confides with itself quite naturally. That can be said for the tone of the album itself, a dirty, cruel piece of work that yearns for being fed with hate and vibrancy. It's prominent with the deafening, defiant and ambitious "Random", with its cynical guitar and ominous background vocals that give it that sense of terror, but also a sense of resilience for the ones who get hated and trashed on. This is that kind of anthem for that demographic.
The cruelty in the piece also features a side that screams for love, support, and for hope, a polar opposite that confides with the clash of ice and fire that exists within the record. The grievances in the mournful, flashy "Drifting" brings that with the desperation flowing from the fight in Chris Brown's vocals and the killer rap in the beginning from Tory Lanez that energizes the glistening yet emotive track. More of that optimism and hope shines in the obvious "Everything Will Be OK", brightened by the glowing, roaring hook from vocalist Kehlani and the promising, hopeful lyricism spat by the tough, raw vocals in G-Eazy as he fronts self-love, to fight whatever situation that is thrown your way, and to never give up. It's a darker, more tearful counterpart to what Logic brought with the same premise in "Lord Willin'", with drug-inducing, colorful synths that breathe life into an otherwise hopeful but grieving atmosphere. It easily glows as the best track off the record, and on a personal level it related and resonated within my own self.
The legacy that "When It's Dark Out" will leave behind is that it is the kind of psychological revolution that G-Eazy conceived to bring to the masses, to stop hiding the troubles and deception that exists in each of our own troubled selves and to embrace it, to face our demons. He also asks for optimism and for hope that no matter whatever hell you're going through, that you'll survive. It will bring chill to your bones, break you down to tears, but it will instate that resilience that is also conceived, yet concealed within our own state of minds. It can be one of the harder listens you come across by because of the deep immersion of emotion conveyed on all parts of the emotive spectrum. The most emotive hip-hop record of the year by far and his best piece to date, G-Eazy lights that fire in all of our souls, telling us to endure that depressing mental struggle, whatever and whenever it may be, because in darkness there is always light.
