Creepy, fairy, PowderPuff Girls gone wrong.
Everyone is fucked up.
I know what I’m saying right now isn’t exactly prophetic, but it’s true nonetheless.
We have all had something in our lives that has shaped the way we are today (for better or for worse.) Relationships gone wrong, family drama, or just being too chemically imbalanced to function in society; we all have our proverbial crosses to bear.
Unfortunately Chris Palko, better known as the rapper Cage, has had to deal with all of these problems and more. A deadbeat dad, a crazy mom, an abusive stepfather, his battle with addiction, a stint in the mental institution, and oh yeah, he used to be a fat guy (a BIG fat guy to be exact.) These are just a few of the dilemmas Cage has had to work through in the “X-rated Lifetime movie” that is his life. Fortunately for us, his mental-breakdown culminated in his 2009 effort, “Depart From Me…”, where Palko laid it all on the table, giving us crazies out there an “at least my life’s not that fucked” kind of feeling.
Hey, I'm crazy. But not "Cage" crazy.
Cover: Flesh-eating, cartoon alien/fairy creatures, ripping apart what I can only assume is Cage’s dead body. At first glance, you don’t notice what is actually going on here (or at least I didn’t) because of the way the bright colors lay over the white background. But when you look deeper, it’s quite a grim scene. The green powder-puff girl gone wrong has not only devoured the face of the dead man, which is hanging by a thread on it’s shark-like teeth, but has also ripped the heart from the body. All the while, the Avatar reject to the left is sucking his arm dry and the pink lady on the right is waiting to feast, cutlery at the ready.
What this has to do with the album? I have no idea. Maybe it’s a metaphor for Palko, you know, killing his former self or purging himself of all of his issues. Either way, the album is a lot like Cage’s music, which is different and unexpected, making it one of the most interesting covers in the hip-hop scene in the last several years.
Sound: Cage’s sound on this album is nothing but a departure from his previous two records (hence the title). Sean Martin, Cage’s lead guitarist, lays down the perfect 80’s hardcore style riffs that suit the emotional purging that Palko does on this record. Think Black Flag with a more lyrically sophisticated Henry Rollins at the helm.
I NOT SOPHISTICATED?
Most people (pretentious music journalists, what’s up Pitchfork?) first perceived this as just another “rap-rock” album by another white boy rapper wannabe (see: Fred Durst). But what they fail to see is even though the sound is geared in more of the direction of a punk record, all of the songs are essentially poppy but still keep their underground, independent sensibility. The catchy riffs and sing-a-long choruses were made for the radio, that is, if the radio didn’t have their heads up their own asses.
Lyrics: Emo-rap is not term I like to use for two reasons. The first is because I think its bullshit (emotions should be in lyrics, dumbasses). The second is that it carries a negative connotation (Emo-anything carries a negative connotation these days. THANKS HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS!) But in reality, that is exactly what Cage does, and he does it well.
Songs like, “Depart From Me” and “Eating it’s Way Out of Me” both deal with his last break-up to which he’s definitely bitter about it to say the least. For instance on, “Depart From Me…,” Cage rants, “I’d like to say I can deal, will I escape duress? /When I can’t explain the scars on my arms and chest /See the abyss, I pucker up and give her a kiss /She holds me close and puts cigarettes out on my wrists/ I’m just a bum-out who’s run out of lies truthfully /I guess there’s nothing that you or I could do for me/ I got a list of prescriptions I should stay off/ I guess my overdose either did the trick or was way off.” Definitely some heavy stuff but well written nonetheless.
The heaviness continues on songs like “Beat Kids” (about his abusive stepfather and mother) and “Dr. Strong” (about his stay at the mental facility, Stoney Lodge Hospital). On “Dr. Strong,” Cage states, “When you wake up drugged it’s tough to get your thoughts sorted /And you realize you’re tied down about to be drawn and quartered /But there’s no horses about to rip you limb from limb /But the tranquilizer in your blood is what they give to them /And after thirteen hours of being tied to a bed /You’re to shuffle the hallways, fuck off, and die in your head,” painting a very vivid picture of what it was like to be in a mental institution. Almost becoming the sequel to the song “Institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies. Like what happened to Mikey after he didn’t get his damn Pepsi.
JUST ONE PEPSI!
Yet, it’s not all depressing. Cage is actually pretty comical at times. On songs like “Kick Rocks,” “Teenage Hands,” and “Captain Bumout” he explores subjects ranging from dating teenage girls, to one-night stands (“Captain Bumout”) and even people asking him for cigarettes (“Kick Rocks”). However, the crowning comic jewel of the album, and quite possibly the best song is “Fat Kids Need An Anthem.”
This kid definitely needs an anthem.
On this song, Cage rants, “I remember I was watchin’ Fight Club with my ex-girlfriend/ and the part came up where he had bitch tits and she laughed!/ and I had bitch tits, so that means she was really laughing at me/ I was just tired of feelin’ like shit you know?/ I figured if I lost the weight I might not feel like shit any more/ but guess what, I still feel like shit!/ They say you are what you eat/ that means I went from shit to a vegetable/ and the worst part about it is/ I was happier when I was fat and on drugs/ I went from fantasizing about women/ to fantasizing’ about food I can’t eat anymore.” An anecdote that is not only hilarious, but hits a little to close to home for anyone who has ever been overweight, establishing Cage as the king of the fat, slightly insane, loser community.
Impact: In 2009, no one else was making music like Cage. It was like reading someone’s personal diary, but without the melodrama. In respect to his personal lyrical insight, you can see his work influence countless rappers today, including artists like Kid Cudi (who Cage eventually worked with) and even some of the rappers in the group Odd Future.
While the punk-rap musical styling on “Depart From Me…” is now seen in groups like Death Grips, who are taking over the underground rap scene with their aggressive, yet, calculated mix of several genres from rap, to punk and even electronica.
Although “Depart From Me…” was received with mixed reviews, the fact of the matter is, Cage made a record he wanted to make without worrying about what anyone else thought. In doing so, he changed the way artists approached hip-hop, making it more personal rather than just about money, hoes, cars, and clothes and solidifying “Depart From Me…” as this weeks Classic Cut.