Following the dissolution of the Seeyousoon rap collective a few years ago, Wahid leaned back into the solo material he was releasing at a prolific clip prior to 2020: first with this past February’s feast, by ravens EP, and now with its speedy follow-up, THEY ALL GO MAD!. And while both releases combined barely clock in at 45 minutes, the Orlando-based emcee packs each song with bars that resonate within and beyond the violence and intolerance rooted both in this country and echoed by the global campaigns of repression our government is willingly arming.
THEY ALL GO MAD! is a dizzying listen from the intro track’s packed lyric sheet through to the faux-conciliatory closer “GOOD GAME!.” In between are trippy and occasionally glitched-out beats courtesy of Vitamn, sonic references to genre boundary-pushers like Mick Jenkins and Leon Thomas, and the infectious hooks both of those influences invite. Whether merging the narratives of Black martyrs in America and sharing love for Palestine or throwing down no-one-can-really-fuck-with-me anthems, the intricately layered lyrics and beats on MAD! only reaffirm everything Wahid already proved on feast.
With the new EP out today, you can stream the project below and read a track-by-track breakdown of it courtesy of Wahid.
1. “GENESIS!”
A tried-and-true rap record. No real hook, just raps. Raps with a sense of ferocity and triumph. We wanted an intro that felt like a stamp—this was it.
2. “BONSAI!”
If I remember correctly, this song was loosely inspired by the writing and music from Mick Jenkins’ The Patience. Vitamn and I had that project on repeat. We just wanted to make a song/record that had a soul to it. LNZ was able to do some backing vocals that really brought out that feeling.
3. “HEAT PRESS!”
I was listening to Leon Thomas’ “Treasure in the Hills” and I loved how infectious the hook was. From the melody choices to inflections, I thought to myself, “How do I recreate that over trap-esque production?” The hook specifically. To me, that’s the backbone of the song. I tabbed my bro Kim for a verse and he went insane. Orlando.
4. “ILLUMINATED!”
This song probably has my favorite hook on the entire project. I loved how Vitamn approached and wrote it. This song is just fun to me. It’s also piercing, lyrically. The verse I wrote on this was the first I’m-about-to-prove-a-point moment for this project. And that point is: no one can really fuck with me.
5. “PARADE!”
Vitamn sent me this beat on his birthday. The first song I wrote to it, we both agreed wasn’t right. He then challenged me to start with the hook first, and let the rest build from there. This song really delves into the distrust I was feeling at the time. It’s almost the theme of the record.
6. “MAD!”
This song is special to me. It’s some of my favorite writing I’ve done in a long time. The two verses are amalgamations of martyrs—the first being George Jackson and Malcolm X, and the second verse is Lil’ Bobby Hutton and Trayvon Martin. I wanted to blend their experiences to create one (or two) singular narratives. I was inspired—or rather driven—to write this from what I saw happening in Palestine. That made me think about my own people's plight, and how we all have a shared connection through the unfortunate perils of continued colonialism. “If everyone is crazy, then you’re the one that’s insane.”
7. “NO AMENDS!”
I wrote this and “ILLUMINATED!” in the same weekend, I believe. I was upset. This record to me was like a strike back at the phony shit I perceived to be around me at the time. I love the cadence/freeness of the first verse so much, juxtaposed with the pointed lyricism on the second.
8. “GOOD GAME!”
I hit up my bro Bazile to help me craft a dope outro. He sent the skeleton of this record and I kind of just floated over it. I wanted it to feel fun and concise, especially with how I was riding the riddim. We brought the record over to Iggy (he engineered this entire project) and he really filled out the rest of the beat with some super dope production. This song, to me, was me saying, “You thought you had me in the first half—sike. GG’s, though…”
