Their first installment of the set of five $uicidal $agas, KILL YOURSELF PART XVI: THE FADED STAINS SAGA flaunts a picture of JFK’s assassination in front of a blood-soaked wall; $UICIDEBOY$ have been known for their razor-slick edge that is well backed by the style of music that they adapt to. With the first cut of “I’M DONE” from KILL YOURSELF PART XVI, it is interesting to see how $UICIDEBOY$ switch their style to more of a slow, rising punch; as most of their releases come in full force from the first moments. “I’m Done” was also released as a single/teaser for PART XVI, an adequate first look into the chaos of the following $agas as well. The rather schizophrenic style of piano and sampled laughing that runs through the background as the hook illustrates, “If you try to run, I’mma cock my gat and blast you…”. $crim finishes “I’M DONE” with his verse that describes, “Hate this showbiz, hate all this fame shit, vanish away like SpaceGhostPurpp did. Either that, or blow a hold through my head”. The $UICIDEBOY$ style is still iconic and surprisingly, through the hundreds of tracks, $UICIDEBOY$ still can string together rhymes that feel original through every listen.
On the following track “SMOKED OUT, SCOPED OUT”, $crim and Ruby take a slight ramp in speed to illustrate a different variable in KILL YOURSELF PART XVI. The constant 808 buzzing and clicking that is then mixed with the brick houses that Ruby delivers on the opening verses where he shows a prowess to his drug abuse, “Money can’t buy you happiness, all my life I fucking heard it. But, money can but a lot of drugs, at least enough to last me”. $crim follows a similar style and opens with, “Smoking on the bud sack, ounces of that indo. Paranoid illusions, tap the gun against my window… When you see us, yeah you know we on them fucking drugs. Percocet, Xanax, Roxicodone, crush ‘em up”. Their style is similar, but approaches different heights as they describe situations that vary on the well-known formula for $UICIDEBOY$.
Finally, they move onto “GLOOM”, a last hopeful send-off into the next $aga that comes blaring like a fully loaded bus. Ruby shines his lyrical wit where he describes, “They told me, ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’, which is why I’m always looking down”. The topic of power and influence is continued as both Ruby and $crim move through “Gloom”, describing the “devil in disguise,” and the “Caesar of these fucking apes”. Through both Ruby and $crim, $UICIDEBOY$ become an unstoppable killing machine that can both produce and rap without going through a middle-man.
While there are four more $agas to be displayed, KILL YOURSELF PART XVI: THE FADED STAINS SAGA is an open welcome that is by no means open-armed, but still warm enough to illustrate some of the madness that will follow.