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Review Summary: not just another someone. When I first read the news of 6 dogs’ suicide not even 3 months ago, I felt gutted to the core, but if I’m being honest I was not necessarily surprised at all at the same time. You might think that’s a bit jaded, or perhaps even offensive of me to say, but unless you’ve been living under a rock, ever since the mid 2010’s SoundCloud Rap/RnB boom that made artists like Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, and even 6 dogs blow up to receive underground acclaim or very short amounts of mainstream success within this revolution of internet-based music, they’ve all essentially died off to a plethora of somewhat related circumstances in the past few years. While 6 dogs was definitely not the most popular of artists among the surface level at this scene. He spent his time working on refining his own craft, taking subtle influences from the likes of Yung Lean, GothBoiClique, Corbin, Bladee, etc., yet 6 dogs still manages with this album to make everything sound unique to his own palette of sounds and amplify them more than ever before, with sounds ranging from 808s that massage your brain to more simplistic songs, guided only by a few cloudy synths and a faintly spoken (but well-mixed) vocal melody with pillowy percussion that almost drowns you into the music that make his songs sounds like that of much more than just another “someone” as he used to proclaim.
I can understand though, that yes, this may not sound much more different from the waves he made with songs like “Faygo Dreams”, “Someone”, and the breakout “Flossin’' that put him on the map to begin with, it’s much easier to say that 6 dogs really spent the time refining his highlights while also correcting the awkward sounds of what made his flawed (yet nonetheless captivating) debut self titled mixtape seem not as clean as it could’ve been. Whether it be through the atmospheric masterpieces that are “Starfire”, “Good Wings,” and “Indigo Daydream,” that are borderline entrancing, they’re also mixed with just as impactful deeper cuts such as “Spy Kids” or “Time Machine” that evoke nostalgic looks into the past through cloudy drugged out lenses, with the production choices all over this album resonating as hit after hit, but it still feels like there’s some heart missing, something that makes 6 dogs’ sound feel unfinished or unrefined, but as I found out this album was submitted weeks before he died, I realized it’s just been the emptiness of not having the artist you want people to hear being taken too early rather than it was the album itself being unfinished.
That’s when it hit me, while posthumous releases can be handled in many different ways, especially with the sudden deaths of many industry faces like Lil Peep, Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke, Mac Miller, XXXTentacion, Fredo Santana, among countless others that labels take advantage of, can often make a posthumous release sound unlike the artist it’s named after. But in no way does this ever feel like a disingenuous project. In fact, I think given the somewhat self-titling of this record, I would probably infer that this is the representation of the more direct and refined directions 6 dogs was going towards, before his untimely and beyond tragic suicide at the age of 21 just months (if not weeks) ago. With RONALD. you’re not going to see any massive evolution of an artist, but rather the most refined work from an artist who paved the way for his sounds to become profitable and mainstream in America whereas they weren’t necessarily before besides select European artists like Yung Lean or Bladee. The album is a heartbreaking double edged sword in that this is the most personal 6 dogs has ever been on a record since his debut mixtape, and it’s the most mature effort we’ve ever gotten from him. But on the other side of the same coin, that’s just it. Life is short, and while we're lucky enough to hear this last swan song from a young and innovative creator, at the same time it shouldn’t be glamorized like some of the deaths of some of the more mainstream artists in this scene. It’s a cautionary tale of how awful and gripping the music industry can be on these new internet-based musicians, and
hopefully as this album reaches more ears, all we can hope is that more artists like 6 dogs that need to help get it. And if that’s not enough, blast this whole record from your roof at full volume while smoking in the moonlight; trust me, it’s worth the noise complaints.
RIP 6 dogs.
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Album Rating: 4.0
wrote this on a whim as i've tried to rev this a few times and restarted repeatedly, and figured i should just say fuck it and post it. RIP to a very influential artist of my age thats definitely made a somewhat unnoticed impact on the scenes he was affiliated with as a whole, definitely an underrated artist by all means. any constructive criticism is appreciated as like i said, i wrote this on a whim and will post updates when i've cleaned things up ofc.
check this out :'')))
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
also first solo review as contrib oops yeehaw!!!!
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Goddamn there's a slew of depressed soundcloud rappers these days (these days being the last 4 or 5 years).
Good review man, I always like the personal gripping touch you add to your writing.
I'll prolly jam this if I ever stop binging black metal and Candlemass lol
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
man i'm glad you reviewed this one. i'll have a closer read later when im home.
i agree though this feels like his most personal work; feel like his pain was most apparent on this. it would've been really exciting to see his sound evolve from here too.
hope his passing at least put some awareness on the shit these people go through. hope no one else has to go like this.
big RIP
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Awesome review! I like how your writeup switches between a review and a eulogy at just the right times. The larger context of the soundcloud rap scene - and the slew of tragic deaths happening in the scene - is crucial when approaching a review like this, and you really nailed it. I’m not even much of a soundcloud rap fan myself and I may end up checking this out
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
glad to see that you guys enjoyed as well as that this review was compelling enough for you guys to write such kind words about it
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
it's definitely far different from what you think of typical "soundcloud rap" even though this is barely even rap
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thank u based mods for da feature
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
wonderful review ian, really sad to hear about his passing. will give this a listen later!
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thank you Jesper, i appreciate your time and if you're in the mood for something more dreamy/cloudy, throw this on for a change and let me know what ya think because you might actually dig(?)
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"That’s when it hit me, while posthumous releases can be handled in many different ways, especially with the sudden deaths of many industry faces like Lil Peep, Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke, Mac Miller, XXXTentacion, Fredo Santana, among countless others that labels take advantage of, can often make a posthumous release sound unlike the artist it’s named after."
This reads like a few different sentences smashed together. Is it the labels that make the releases sound unlike the artists? The fact that these artists are being taken advantage of? "6 dogs that need to help get it" has an extra "to", there are a couple other bits of odd expression, and in future you should try splitting up your larger sentences more, there are a lot of thoughts bleeding into one another. Otherwise, lovely work Ian!!! Enjoyed reading this a lot. Keep it up, am excited seeing more from you now that you got that well-earned badge.
I really loved the s/t but regrettably never kept up with the dude otherwise. Was a serious talent, but. RIP. Do you know if he'd properly finished this before he died?
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"Lil Peep, Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke, Mac Miller, XXXTentacion"
I despise all of this minus mac miller lol. If this is anything like those others I'll prob hate it.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thank you for reading !!! yeah i was kind of the same way, i went through three or four drafts of this review that i scrapped before i churned out this one which is why it kinda reads like a rough draft lol. kinda went back to my roots tho with the impulsive emotional shit which was fun, but i will say it's funny to me that the section you chose as being a jumbled up section is probably the least jumbled up (albeit, still oddly phrased) bit of this whole review i'd argue. and when it comes to his circumstances, i kinda kept it vague on purpose because it's honestly vague in itself like i had to do a lot of deep diving on how his career went and his final weeks/days were etc. he was a good kid stuck in a fucked up machine. at least though **TLDR** he got the album he submitted finalized and even though it got renamed and remarketed later as it was getting release, it's probably the most authentic posthumous release in this vein of music since Circles by Mac Miller or something of that appreciation for the original vision
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
ok sorry blush there might be a few jumbled up words in there i'll admit to that lmfaooo 💛💛
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Okay yea 4 tracks in and this is fking garbage
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
also @gyro no not at all really, he's kind of got his own set of vibes that are much more evocative than half of those artists usually are imho, but if you don't like more spacey, dreamy cloud rap/r&b from an artist that came out of the SoundCloud revolution with one of the most influential debut mixtapes in the entire scene. idk i'll shut up now but i reviewed this to be like “ahh hey even if you don't agree with my taste on many things still please check this record out”
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
dammit gyro do you even like chill/dreamy music to relax to bc i don't see how this is like total garbage tbh like i can see it being a lil mid maybe but not awful idk i'm clearly biased lol
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It sounds very much like your typical cloud rap stuff to me (which I loathe). Interstellar is the only track so far I even sort of vibe with. His voice is grating as hell.
Solid review but yeah this sounds mad generic to me
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
fair, though for me gyro bby please give this another chance or two before giving it such a harsh rating ow oof owie
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For you, Ian, I'll listen to 2 random tracks later while washing the dishes and see how I feel - a deal I don't give to just anybody. I can't express how generous this is.
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