Seventeen years on the mic. Hundreds of songs. Well over twenty albums recorded. Closing in on thirty. Yet there were only two, two of them that didn't hold up to the rest. Two that didn't represent the kind of fire only I can bring. Two blemishes on the record. We're human. We all make mistakes. It takes a man to admit them. It takes a warrior to fix them. But it takes a prophet, it takes a prophet to remix them.
The Second Death The Second Time The way it should have been done. |
The truth is, I never liked The Second Death. From the moment I finished it I wasn't happy. I hated the beats, the quality, the choruses, the idea of using audio clips in between tracks. That entire project wasn't me. I was going through some rough shit at the time, as was everyone around me. I had a lot to say and even more that needed to be heard. This was my failed attempt to say it.
The Second Death was written and recorded towards the end of January and early February of 2013 over the course of two weeks. One of my best friends, Assailant, was living with me at the time and we were both looking for some kind of escape from life. At night we would play The Sims on the computer while writing songs, usually one and a half to two a night. We were both pretty close to death at that time, either by our own hand, or somebody else's. Coincidentally, my character in the game died so we started over, when I died the second time I called it quits and told him to carry on without me. And so the title was born.
However, I'd come up with the idea of The Second Death months before that with a slightly different, more philosophical meaning. The way I saw it, I'd already died once when I changed in ninth grade, leaving the old me behind and becoming a rapper. This album marked the end of that stage of my life in many ways. Early Grave, an album I was working on at the same time had a very similar feel and dealt with the same topics, just on a deeper more lyrical level whereas The Second Death was thrown together quickly and not meant to have any singles. It was meant to feel more like one long song because in a way it is. The subject matter tends to carry over from one track to the next with no actual moments of silence between them. I'd used that same formula on the ...And On The 3rd Day album as well, making this a sort of follow up to it. So if on that album I died as well, that would make this one the second death. A simple title, yet effective and full of meaning.
It should have been incredible but was unfortunately far from it. Sometimes all it takes to make a song better are minor variations, sometimes it's a complete overhaul. For Lost In The Sands, a complete overhaul was necessary and made for one incredible album. I decided to do the same for The Second Death. The unlikely pop, rock, adult contemporary style instrumentals make a return because one album just wasn't enough. While finding beats for Lost In The Sands, I came across a bunch that I just had to use but ran out of material, not to mention time on the album.
Rappers use sampled beats all the time, it's practically all they use, but they're always altered to give them a harder feel. Sometimes it's as simple as throwing new drums over the original, but never do they take the instrumental as it was. It's something rappers don't do. Well, this one does. Amy Grant, Don Henley, Bruce Springstein, Diana Ross, Michael Bolton, Roxette, Foreigner, Phil Collins.
The lyrics were good but not great, so I'm making them incredible. The choruses were weak, so I'm making them stronger. The beats were lackluster, so I'm making them shine. The album, the album was disappointing, so I'm making it unforgettable.
The Second Death was written and recorded towards the end of January and early February of 2013 over the course of two weeks. One of my best friends, Assailant, was living with me at the time and we were both looking for some kind of escape from life. At night we would play The Sims on the computer while writing songs, usually one and a half to two a night. We were both pretty close to death at that time, either by our own hand, or somebody else's. Coincidentally, my character in the game died so we started over, when I died the second time I called it quits and told him to carry on without me. And so the title was born.
However, I'd come up with the idea of The Second Death months before that with a slightly different, more philosophical meaning. The way I saw it, I'd already died once when I changed in ninth grade, leaving the old me behind and becoming a rapper. This album marked the end of that stage of my life in many ways. Early Grave, an album I was working on at the same time had a very similar feel and dealt with the same topics, just on a deeper more lyrical level whereas The Second Death was thrown together quickly and not meant to have any singles. It was meant to feel more like one long song because in a way it is. The subject matter tends to carry over from one track to the next with no actual moments of silence between them. I'd used that same formula on the ...And On The 3rd Day album as well, making this a sort of follow up to it. So if on that album I died as well, that would make this one the second death. A simple title, yet effective and full of meaning.
It should have been incredible but was unfortunately far from it. Sometimes all it takes to make a song better are minor variations, sometimes it's a complete overhaul. For Lost In The Sands, a complete overhaul was necessary and made for one incredible album. I decided to do the same for The Second Death. The unlikely pop, rock, adult contemporary style instrumentals make a return because one album just wasn't enough. While finding beats for Lost In The Sands, I came across a bunch that I just had to use but ran out of material, not to mention time on the album.
Rappers use sampled beats all the time, it's practically all they use, but they're always altered to give them a harder feel. Sometimes it's as simple as throwing new drums over the original, but never do they take the instrumental as it was. It's something rappers don't do. Well, this one does. Amy Grant, Don Henley, Bruce Springstein, Diana Ross, Michael Bolton, Roxette, Foreigner, Phil Collins.
The lyrics were good but not great, so I'm making them incredible. The choruses were weak, so I'm making them stronger. The beats were lackluster, so I'm making them shine. The album, the album was disappointing, so I'm making it unforgettable.