By: Jack O’Sullivan
I first met Deathwish, on Aug. 22nd at Raven Street Studios. I was sitting in on Izzy Rose’s live stream performance while Jelan Maxwell produced the stream and Deathwish engineered. I walked into the largest of three studios and we had a brief introduction, but the focus quickly shifted back to the matter at hand.
Once Rose’s performance was over, Maxwell joined her in the live room to celebrate their accomplishment while Deathwish and I got acquainted. As he closed down the session, we discussed our respective musical backgrounds and he told me how he was drawn to the capital city from his home in Sudbury by the need to take his music more seriously through the formal education offered in The Audio Recording Academy.
Deathwish’s passion and drive was engaging that I needed to hear some of his work. He played the most recent project he made with the local rapper Dashype entitled, TRIPS. As soon as the 12 minute EP began playing, over the massive studio monitors, I was instantly hooked. The combination of Deathwish’s production style and the delivery of Dashype’s lyrics created an amazing Lo-Fi boom-bap aesthetic that set the scene of ‘watching TV on mushrooms’.
As my intrigue grew, Deathwish described how this perfect collaboration came about, he mentioned his plans to release a new EP every month with a new artist. His music, motivation, and strong work ethic left a lasting impression that I took home with me as a newly converted fan.
I paid close attention to Deathwish’s Instagram over the next couple of months attentively waiting for any type of teaser or release that might be on the way. Sept. 18th, Deathwish and local rapper Deucio released the next collaborative EP, Deucie Got A Deathwish.
The eight track EP further proved that Deathwish was making moves in his own lane with a signature production style that mixes influences from the best hip-hop producers of new and old. It also showed that he was all-in on his mission to release new projects every month with the best local artists while maintaining the highest quality across each release.
On the morning of Oct. 17th, I was killing time before heading to work, when I came across an Instagram reel of Deathwish in a dark vocal booth recording a verse. He was reading from a notebook that looked to be filled with lyrics.
“Deathwish. EP in the works. Dropping this November!” The caption read.
My anticipation continued to build with each teaser he released for the upcoming EP. Until the single, Life Slowed Down, dropped and the release date was announced.
After almost three months, to the day of our initial meeting, I met Deathwish again at Raven Street Studios late one night to get the inside scoop on the Scraps EP. As I walked into the large dimly-lit studio, I found him at the console, already working on his next project
I sat down with Deathwish and he began playing the newly finished masters for Scraps and we began analyzing how the project came about.
He explained that he had many finished projects with different local artists but as not conflict with their own project, he had to put them on hold. To maintain his monthly release schedule, he decided to take on the role of rapper, producer, and engineer to “scrap together” the next EP in his line of releases.
“I’ve been producing for a while,” Deathwish said. “ I’ve been making beats for probably like seven years and even before that I was rapping. I started rapping in high school, just like freestyling with friends in the smoking section.”
The first track, Dos Equis, instantly has a recognizable production style specific to Deathwish. He has cultivated this, over the years, through experimentation while also incorporating the influence of great producers such as The Alchemist, MF Doom, Madlib, and Nicholas Craven. The intro starts with an old vocal sample over a sombre piano instrumental to lead you into the song and set the scene for the whole EP.
“I really like the artists that make their music almost cinematic, like an old 70’s flick,” said Deathwish. “I find Griselda does that really well. Roc Marciano does that well. You listen to the old Wu-Tang albums and they’re like that too, especially the solo projects from like Ghostface and Raekwon.”
The second track, Bedsores (feat. Dashype), wastes no time and gets straight to the point. The simple intro builds up quickly then dives right into a lyrical barrage of hard-hitting one-liners as the sampled soul beat loops in the background. The track goes to show that Deathwish should be taken seriously not only as a producer but also as a talented lyricist. The delivery of his lyrics is reminiscent of the iconic tone from artists such as Action Bronson and Freddie Gibbs.
“I try to keep it as simple as possible,” Deathwish said. “A very minimalist beat with qualities that are different, like maybe a non-traditional rhythm for hip-hop or a sample that you wouldn’t think to use. A good rapper will carry the song.”
Our conversation continued as Scraps played in the background, and the theme of almost seamless transitions between songs on Deathwish’s projects was evident when the single, Life Slowed Down, started to play. The late 60’s drug PSA immediately grabs your attention; launching you into the entrancing beat with clever wordplay and interesting ad-libs comparable to Mac Miller’s Faces. The song is an example of the diverse flows that are featured on Scraps and also shows a more melodic side since it is the only song with a distinct hook.
“The Alchemist does that too,” said Deathwish. “I saw this interview where he said he looks at albums just like one big song where it has different parts to it and he puts these albums together like it’s one song, and that really resonated with me.”
The fourth track on the EP, Crash Whips featuring Deucio, comes in on a much more laid-back note with a soft piano sample that lowers the overall energy creating a feeling like Westside Gunn. The smooth repetitive beat combined with the relaxed flow and the motivational vocal samples paints the picture of an artist on a mission to master their craft.
“Some people might say he doesn’t put a ton of effort into his bars, but I don’t care about any of that,” said Deathwish. “He says what he wants to say, adds gun ad-libs, and uses clips from wrestling to create his cool aesthetic and I love the aesthetic.”
The final track, Descending, opens introspectively, rapping about authenticity and personal motivation through building your own legacy from hard work. Halfway through the song, the beat switches to a drum-less soulful vocal sample, reminiscent of College Dropout-era Kanye. It closes the EP in a true finale fashion leaving you with a feeling of satisfaction and closure.
“There’s nothing corny-er than trying to be someone you’re not,” said Deathwish. “So, if that’s who you are and you fucking sell it…then yeah, that’s good music.”