“I’m about to kill myself and you keep listening to my mixtape.” This could come from an AI that we commissioned to invent a letter from Albany, but no: it’s part of ‘I DON’T FUCK W COCAINE’, the song that opens the last song by the author of ‘I’m not fine’, and which then continues with verses such as “these are no longer times to ask in the corner / now I sing love songs / I have daddy issues, I don’t even know how to say it”.
There is usually a very fine line between a song that we identify as 100% by an artist and a (self) parody, and Alba Casas crosses it at various times in ‘LÁGRIMAS DE UN G’. Of course, given the point of performance that this EP has, it can even be sought after.
If there was any doubt that Alba Casas was the Lana del Rey of trap, those doubts were due to the existence of Yung Beef: it was difficult to give him or her that crown because they both did (wonderful) merits in this regard. It is true that Fernando alternated his sad facet with his dodgy side, that of pimping money, weapons, bitches and power in general, and there Albany did not go so far… until now. Because in ‘TEARS OF A G’ he shows that if he wants to get into that plan, he does it just as well, and at times even better.
“I have too ridiculous a flow”, which she says herself in ‘THOR’, featuring Clutchill and one of the many freestyle exercises on the EP (there’s even a mention of Lil Nas X). The issue is quite well resolved, but this is not the case of the collaboration with ARON (Aron Piper) in ‘CADENA SIN DISEÑO’: it is curious to hear him say “tell those actors who don’t act, they just imitate me”, and Hers is starting to be a little too much performance: “I burn money, I don’t give a damn (…) there are no more free beats, I pay the producer / they are envious and I have a flow like Ñengo”.
It is much more natural in that facet of badass ‘ESTERNOCLEIDOMASTOIDEO’, which speaks of “canis with a career” and has a phrase as great as “I eat rappers for dessert after noodles” (you tell me that this was written by La Bad and I believe it). The production also goes more for that roll and not so much for the approach to hyperpop and the futuristic point of the recent ‘XXX’: Albany repeats with DRED BEY (present in ‘XXX’ and also in his hit song for ‘Through my window’), and has people like DB (Future’s collaborator), Blackthoven (Pimp Flaco, Juicy BAE) or Digital Wave (Cecilio G).
But don’t worry, you won’t miss the sadgirl: “the worst of all is not showing you the music I record / being sad and not being able to have your arms” she sings in ‘RASPUTIN’, or “and I’m still here every day, climbing up / wanting to die even if I don’t tell anyone” in ‘LIL BABY ALBANY’.
The latter is one of the two great jewels of the album. Between nods to La Vendición (“if I’m still alive it’s thanks to the blessing / that my mother gave me when she gave birth to me”), Fernando or La Zowi, Albany claims here to be married to “la transa” (before a beat actually arrived like this) and delivers a brilliant song that alternates between vulnerability and pimping (“das lache, you better not call me / I’m very busy making a hit that gives you cancer”).
And the other gem, perhaps even better if you prefer the cutesy side, is ‘SCORT’, where again there is that mix of attitude (“tell your bitch to shut up and eat / that I am the mom of this area / and that I I take it out even if I don’t have a dick”… chef’s kiss) with melancholy (“baby, everything is so weird / I just want to be by your side”). ‘SCORT’ is quite a romantic song, although it hides it well: “he looks at me and leaves my panties wet / I want him to cum on my face / and with you I become a scort”, he ends up blurting out after making everything quite clear with “still I have not declared myself and people already know it ”.
In short, ‘TEARS OF A G’ does not disappoint when Albany does what he does best, delivering magnificent songs like ‘SCORT’ or ‘LIL BABY ALBANY’. And when she experiments new ways she will end up hitting more (‘STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID’) or less (‘CHAIN WITHOUT DESIGN’), but it is always interesting. Something that, certainly, can be applied to Albany itself and its works.