Review Summary: Maybe God is just a kid from the 90s
If you're asking me, my favorite comedy special is
Cold Lasagna Hate Myself 1999 by James Acaster. In my opinion, it's the perfect special - for one, it's hilarious, but secondly, it's crammed full of unbelievable & wild anecdotes about Acasters life that I never knew before. For starters, I never knew his ex-girlfriend left him to marry Mr Bean. I go back to that special all the time because it's comforting to hear someone deal with a lifetime of constant mental health scrapes with humour and honesty. However, when I watch it, I lose all sense of subjectivity - "Why does nobody ever talk about this special? Why is this not as popular as it should be? Why is this not shown on Comedy Central once a week?" It's only at this point that I remember that I'm only a passing comedy fan, and I don't live and breathe it every day.
I get the exact same feeling listening to
While You Were Sleeping. I know that Cal Scruby has his fans and that he doesn't have issues selling out venues. I understand that my wheelhouse is not rap/hip hop - my knowledge of the genre is limited because it's just not the side of town that I live on. It doesn't stop me however, from thinking the same thoughts every listen - "Why doesn't this get more plays? Why is this not on the radio? Why isn't Scruby a household name by now?"
While You Were Sleeping is by and large a collection of laid back hip hop bangers with replayability value to boot. Scrubys trademark nonchalant flow is in abundance here, arguably his greatest asset, with each bar sounding both effortless and perfectly delivered in equal measure. Even on the tracks where Scruby is clearly bending over backwards to give the impression that he's
too chill to sound like he cares how his delivery comes across, you cannot deny his ice-cold style is a refreshing change from what you hear from his contemporaries.
Lyrically, there's a humourous undertone to many of these tracks. Be it tongue-in-cheek references to his current position in the rap music pecking order and the financial implications that this brings, to countless basketball/American football references that he often utilizes, there's a welcome relatability to an artist in this field telling you what he
would spend his money on, rather than brag about what he doesn't have. He is quite happy to let you know that he's independently trying to chase the bag without just signing the first record contact that comes his way, meaning that there's plenty of light self-deprication sprinkled throughout this project without it coming across as woe is me - a refreshing touch.
Highlights on this record include the playful
Donnie Darko, with an infectious beat and bars that centre around self-proclaimed greatness in the booth, only to keep dragging himself back to earth with the admission that he just isn't quite there yet in his career to date.
Crisis toys with the same themes, with Scruby admitting that his ability to stay sensible with any money created by his rap project is invested in himself rather than frittered away sets him apart from the typical mindset you find in modern day rap music. The utterly hilarious (and viral)
Money Buy Drugs is a short but sweet parody of the public safety announcement trope - exploring the world of side effects of recreational drug use by essentially personifying the notion of "drugs are bad, kids". Other highlights, such as
Chess, Not Checkers, Cold Showers, Cigarette Break & #1 Draft Pick all have Scruby showing clear self belief in what he does best without really breaking a sweat.
While this project does carry the odd skip (see the forgettable
3 Chickens) and ends in a slightly limp fashion, there's no denying that Scruby here is firing on all cylinders when it comes to showing you that he wants to be the best without explicitly telling you those words. There's room for improvement - some fat could be trimmed - but you'd be hard pressed to find an LP that matches the unique energy and back to back sleeper bars that are on showcase here.