The Beast Coast collective shares more than origins in Flatbush. They also share a set of new age-y reference points that they reference in raps, centered around third eyes and a bit of debunked 80's pseudoscience called indigo child theory. It's all a little corny. The Underachievers seem skilled at wrapping new age-ism and indigo theory into a loose mythology in which they can insert their personas, in the way Sun Ra inserted themselves into cryptic mythologies a generation ago.
Opening track Luminescence is a loop of a few sparse guitar strums, syruppy violin strings and an ethereal sounding maraca beat, as AK and Issa Gold exchange frenetically paced raps about building cultures, demolishing negativity, paving paths for rebirth. "Chrysalis" is an exasperated second wind breath over ethereal sounding chants and light trap hi-hats. Radiance is a nearly identical Static Selektah produced song with battering ram raps.
The album's similar beats make it feel coherent and of one piece, but it also makes the tracks difficult to distinguish from one another. This is not helped by one word track names that are all thematically similar. With names like "Luminescence", "Radiance", and "Ethereal", it feels a bit like reading the track list of an Enya album. The standout track is lead single "Metropolis". It distinguishes itself with a spiraling flow, mirrored by the staccato percussion underneath. It starts off with a bold mission statement - "Death to the radio n****/this is where that saga ends/up by the light of David". It's fine that Underachievers work within new age mythology, partially because it allows them to carve out a niche that is more or less untread in hip hop. Even within Beast Coast, Flatbush Zombies have focused more on re-orienting horrorcore as avant-spirituality in the the same way Gravediggaz did, Pro Era on their post 90's thing. There aren't a lot of rap acts with the same schtick as UA, and if there are, there certainly aren't any as lyrically talented or earnest as them. But it's far more rewarding when Underachievers transcend their schtick, if even for fleeting moments on Metropolis, which they wisely based a single and video around. At first it seems refreshing that neither of them mine their personal lives for narratives, but as the tracks go on, vague positivity and lyrics about streams of light and rebirth only offer so much meat to pull apart, and the album could benefit from narrative momentum or the kind of contradictory and human essence that makes the raps of their peers relatable. But maybe the indigo child theory, however debunked it has been as baby boomer pseudoscience is correct about one thing: relatability is overrated.
The album's similar beats make it feel coherent and of one piece, but it also makes the tracks difficult to distinguish from one another. This is not helped by one word track names that are all thematically similar. With names like "Luminescence", "Radiance", and "Ethereal", it feels a bit like reading the track list of an Enya album. The standout track is lead single "Metropolis". It distinguishes itself with a spiraling flow, mirrored by the staccato percussion underneath. It starts off with a bold mission statement - "Death to the radio n****/this is where that saga ends/up by the light of David". It's fine that Underachievers work within new age mythology, partially because it allows them to carve out a niche that is more or less untread in hip hop. Even within Beast Coast, Flatbush Zombies have focused more on re-orienting horrorcore as avant-spirituality in the the same way Gravediggaz did, Pro Era on their post 90's thing. There aren't a lot of rap acts with the same schtick as UA, and if there are, there certainly aren't any as lyrically talented or earnest as them. But it's far more rewarding when Underachievers transcend their schtick, if even for fleeting moments on Metropolis, which they wisely based a single and video around. At first it seems refreshing that neither of them mine their personal lives for narratives, but as the tracks go on, vague positivity and lyrics about streams of light and rebirth only offer so much meat to pull apart, and the album could benefit from narrative momentum or the kind of contradictory and human essence that makes the raps of their peers relatable. But maybe the indigo child theory, however debunked it has been as baby boomer pseudoscience is correct about one thing: relatability is overrated.
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