Song Of The Week: "Call On" - Mez ft. Kurtis Wells

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When seemingly well-adjusted people make dark, emotionally strained art, critics and fans alike can understandably — whether they like the art or not — find themselves questioning the incentives and motives that might be at play behind the scenes. From Van Goh to Cobain to Kanye, the allure of the tortured artist has endured for as long art itself, and so too has the implicit understanding that there's money to be made in the kind of mildly (or supremely) unnerving themes from which audiences can't seem to look away. Disturbing art can be painfully real, but it can also be a facade, or worse yet, a ruse — creative window dressing used to convey a depth and complexity that isn't really there.

And yet for L.A.-based, Raleigh-raised emcee Mez — whose best music over the past 10 years has often been marked by an eerie, foreboding quality that might otherwise seem contrived from someone with such a charming, sunny demeanor — the hint of darkness has never felt the slightest bit inauthentic or superficial.

One reason may be simply how long he's been doing it. Going back through his discography, from 2011's collaborative EP with Khrysis, and 2012 songs like "Reign" and "The Queen," all the way to his COLORS performance in 2022, one begins to wonder if Mez has ever encountered a creepy, minor chord-inflected sample he didn't love. (Funny coming from someone who can also lace an old-school, 90's-era beat like this.)

On his newest single, "Call On" — the first offering from his long-awaited Loading... EP — the affinity for ominousness is present once again, the uncanny knack for haunting backdrops and piercing delivery just the same. The only difference? After nearly a decade of being honed alongside some of the best ears and minds in music, those early sensibilities are now in their most polished, elevated form.

Of course, the persistent notes of melancholy that dot Mez's music are more than a matter of aesthetic taste. They're also borne of real trauma, of lived experiences and struggles that thrust violence and loss into Mez's life at an early age.

Here, those themes manifest themselves bluntly at times ("Rappers can't talk about pain with me — I've been through as real as it gets/ now it's 'fuck it, it is what it is...'"), and more circuitously at others ("N***** say it's all love, but the president of your fan club could turn out like Selena's...), producing clever but unsettling punchlines that linger long after the initial satisfaction has worn off.

But inevitably for a student of language like Mez, rapping is also an opportunity for fun. And if you squint past the voice distortion and the references to bleeding and death, you can see it: the North Carolina Easter eggs (I-40, St. Augustine's and Shaw University), the bobbing, up-and-down pronunciation of Hiroshi Fujiwara ("hi-RO, shi-FU, ji-WA, ra"), the near-rhyming that makes a luxury retailer and a legal summons fit into the same couplet ("pray that God keep me from a Neimans, cuz I'll blow a check like n***** blow court with subpoenas, then make it back in the evening").

On "Call On," there's more than a couple moments — and a sense of uneasiness in general — that could give listeners pause, but we shouldn't worry. Yes, the bleak, chilling undertones are as real and genuine here as on any of Mez's previous work. But inside a dark, featureless studio, in the midst of tangled cords, flashing screens, shadowy figures, and some kind of futuristic, industrial-grade TV-cello — all of it evidence of a carefully planned career vision clicking into place — he's clearly having the time of his life.

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"L.O.N.S." (SNDTRAK Remix) - Charlie Smarts & DJ Ill Digitz ft. Brainorchestra

Just a taste of what the Raleigh legends have on the way, this remix with Oakland-based SNDTRAK is the latest continuation of Charlie and Digitz' excellent Charlietape from last year.

"The number one ru-ule, don't say things that you never do-oo..."

Listen on Bandcamp HERE.

"Stones" - Shame ft. Sonny Miles (Music Video Debut)

Fresh new video treatment for one of the best songs on Shame's album last year, Better Late Than Never.

"32 Flavors" - Reuben Vincent (Song and Music Video)

A new track both written and produced by the Charlotte up-and-comer, released as a loosie while his main single from the start of the year, "FUFU," continues to run up the numbers. After years of paying his dues, Reuben seems to be putting the pieces together for a big break.

"My closet got 32 flavors, my crew like the 36 Chambers, protecting my neck from the dangers..."

That's all for now. See y'all next Friday for another installment of Song of the Week (if I do it)! In the meantime, if you've got something recently out or about to be out, send it on through. Getting featured in the Super Empty newsletter is just that easy. Like Sly Stone once said, "You can make it if you try."