PHARAOH – “REDЯUM (DULLBOY EP)”
This is a dirty, uncompromising and aggressive sound with a constantly pressing narrative, and for some reason it is precisely such compositions that succeed Gleb best.
The last year’s PHARAOH hit “Diko For example” was positively appreciated by almost everyone, so to speak, by rap historians. This is not the most popular track of a Moscow artist, but perhaps one of the most important moments in his musical career: foreign profile publications started talking about him, and the spectacular video clip even reached TheNeedleDrop, the most popular reviewer.
This is a dirty, uncompromising and aggressive sound with a constantly pressing narrative, and for some reason it is precisely such compositions that succeed Gleb best. On “WAJET”, this track was “Nothing has changed”, on “PHLORA” – “No network”, and later there came a period when the rapper plunged into cloud, literally merging into one with a huge stream of similar, conveyor music. The album “Pink Phloyd” did not become something outstanding if you try to look for some musical features in it: the key compositions are considered to be numbers recorded in the minimalist-trap style, whose driving force was memorable, uncomplicated choruses and really carbon lines, but the main power is contained precisely in “Diko for example” and “Problems”.
Before you listen to the rapper’s new release, you should try to abstract as far as possible from the man Gleb Golubin and understand the very essence of his musical character, which exists on all albums (where he belongs). If with “DOLOR” and “PHOSPHOR” it was very difficult to do, then this time the performer himself helps the listener to do everything for this in order to fully understand the essence of the “REDЯUM” sketches.
Firstly: PHARAOH initially positioned a new release as a set of tracks inspired by the atmosphere of the movie “Shine”, which is mistakenly considered a horror. Here the same thing – because fear is deceptive. From the very first composition, the rapper pours malice and dirt on the listener, which is essentially infused with a whole release: it got even other performers, including FACE and Kizaru, the father of his former girlfriend, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, as well as the state. figure Pavel Astakhov. Secondly: the release name itself can be interpreted as a “red room” – a terrible place in the darknet where people are bullied (and even killed).
FrozenGangBeatz and White Punk are responsible for the sound design, it is thanks to them that the necessary vibe of dampness and bloodied walls is created, which only strengthens the narrator’s coolness. This sound is very different from everything that came out a year, two or three back under the moniker PHARAOH, which proves once again: despite the fact that he had felt solid ground under his feet for a long time, Gleb only now designed and gained his own style which will henceforth develop from release to release. On the one hand, we had (and basically remains) PHARAOH, which was inspired by the music of Bones, on the other – PHARAOH, dependent on trends in the rap industry, but still the most important thing (what we talked about in the second paragraph) was usually left behind .
On a short release, the concentration of experiments with sound is higher than on all previous projects of the rapper. For example, on the main banger of the mini-album “Ties of Mob”, Pharaoh successfully changes the flow and voice several times, performing some edlib and lines in such an unusual manner that it seems as if you can hear different people. On the first single “The Murderer” Gleb reads rap in a whisper, and the hook performs already going on to screaming. And the additional advantages include the fact that the number of chantings (which are still given to Pharaoh badly) is reduced to a minimum – they are given only one “Bentley”, which here plays the role of a certain epilogue or final credits and differs markedly from all other compositions.
It is nice to see that PHARAOH has finally ceased to play the role of a mirror, reflecting the work of others, alien to his personality. He combined in one release entertainment content, whole atmosphere and some personal thoughts. The “REDЯUM” project is not without flaws: it is excessive hyperbolization of accumulated anger, the incomprehensible role of the track “The Killer” and a slightly vague concept of the entire release, which reminds of the last track like untied shoes. This is due to the fact that all compositions are leftoverov, by coincidence, not included in the previous or future releases of the artist. But in general, this minion perfectly fulfills its function of a certain transition, which the artist will definitely come in handy before releasing a full-fledged release, performed in a similar style, or a long-awaited rock album.
