by Jack Crawford

Soundcloud rap can end up being seen as a joke a lot of the time – after all it was arguably the platform that spawned the ‘mumble rap’ that gets shit on so much. There is a lot of weird stuff on Soundcloud, but there are some absolute gems like Lilbootycall. The rapper, hailing from San Antonio Texas, started uploading his cute and jazzy tracks to the platform, initially using Garageband to produce beats on the Macbook his dad won at a raffle. The mic on his headphones was used to record the bars on his early material. Sailor Moon is a great example, with a smooth saxophone hook over which Lilbootycall raps in his laidback style.

Sailor Moon was uploaded in February 2016 as part of a 5-track EP – its popularity increased and it racked up millions of streams (today it has 12.5m on Spotify). Lilbootycall continued to upload bangers – Yugioh and OJ in my Gucci bag with their light, dreamy melodies and simple beats, effortlessly easy to listen to, accompanied by Call’s lyrics full of introspection and longing. Oftentimes his songs are sad and comforting.

One thing I really like about Lilbootycall is his authenticity – take a look at his twitter feed, where he’s candid about his mental struggles. He calls himself ‘a motivational speaker for those who want to give up.’ When asked about his name, Call replied that he always felt like a ‘second option’ to his friends when he was younger. He spoke of how he never had many friends, suffered bullying, and couldn’t afford the wardrobe of the ‘cool kids’ – ‘I was rocking, like, Walmart stuff or whatever she [his mother] could find.’ Mocked for playing Clarinet, he left his instrument in his locker on the last day of middle school, a decision he says he still regrets to this day. Splitting his time between his divorced parents on the north and south side of San Antonio, he continued to spend time making beats and recording, initially with friends and then more alone. It was at this point that he recorded Sailor Moon.

Take a look at Lilbootycall’s early music videos too – pastel colours, simple sets, home-film style camera work, cakes and ice-cream, and of course the man himself having fun. They’re as chill and delightful as the music.

Call says went through a period of hating his breakout song, mainly because he felt it boxed him in when he wanted to experiment. His new album certainly has the variety he’s been striving to achieve.

Die No More has an understated jazzy melody that sits smoothly on the beat, with introspective lyrics – more similar to Call’s early material. It’s a nice mixture, something equally at home being played at a house party or listened to alone at 2am. 18K featuring Juicy J is also a standout track, incredibly catchy with its piano backing, and a darker mood than a lot of Lilbootycall’s earlier tracks. Cuco and KWE$T feature on 777 – the autotune on Cuco’s hook is a bit much for my liking, but I really love the intro. Bandaid and Hate Me kick the album off on an emotional note, while Mariah gives us a clean, minimal beat with a more understated use of autotune. 666 is a departure, backed by an acoustic guitar, bringing Call’s vocals to the fore.

The 23-year-old with dyed hair from San Antonio has been going from strength to strength – we should all be watching eagerly to see where he goes from here.

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