Bexey & Rozz Dyliams - Instant Rush (2016)

I'm never quite sure how to describe Rozz Dyliams, let alone recommend him to anyone else. And I'm even less sure of how to begin talking about Bexey. The both of them are esoteric fringe mascots of the Soundcloud era, where anyone can make music and everyone tries their hardest to fuse their unique influences into even more unique art. 

Rozz (formerly of BONES' own Team Sesh) uses his one-of-a-kind voice and experiences to speak on his mental health and sexual struggles to a level that borders on horrorcore (listen to the first 5 minutes of his "Henwell and Brokaw" album if you want to see what I mean). He's a big fan of hardcore, sludge, and electronic music, and throughout much of his discography (in his early work he released under his name of "Dylan Ross") he brings together electronic-influenced beats, (literally) insane lyrics, and a flow like no one else. This is usually hit or miss for me, though I do tend to enjoy when he goes over more trap-influenced production - I love, for example, pretty much every song he makes with Purpdogg.

Bexey (perhaps most well known for being a huge friend of Lil Peep, and the first one to find him dead) boasts a unique background, somewhat-unique sadboy trap vibes, and a unique though often clumsy flow. I tend to like his music less than I do Rozz's, since a lot of the time it sounds like Bexey writes his lyrics before he finds any beats... and a lot of his lyrics are just plain weird. But fun!

(I can't stop saying unique,  but long after having this post finished, I can't think of a better word. Is that a failure of my writing ability or a testament to it, that I'm this sure about a word choice that it feels like I'm simply saying what is universally true?)

The two are so very different to anyone else on the scene that it... actually makes sense for them to make this collab EP together.

The first thing you'll notice going into this tiny thing (6 tracks, 14 minutes) is that Instant Rush is not a trap mixtape. I mean, these two are rapping, but they both have such a profoundly different rapping flow that it often seems like they're just talking or speaking fast over these beats. And the beats are the most unique part of the package (and IMO the part of the whole thing that holds everything together). Produced entirely by Rozz himself, the beats are more house music than trap, with electronic beeps and melodies that are actually pretty bouncy. My favorite song on the album, "The Jacklords", actually begins with a minute or so of some pretty damned good house inspired melodies.

For the most part, as I mentioned, the beats are the most interesting part of the package here, which is to say they're very interesting. When they're not house inspired, the beats feature odd samples and musical ticks that complicate things, but not too uncomfortably. I think this approach to rap music is really unique, and when it works well here, it really works. 

That being said, I don't think this album is perfect. As I mentioned earlier, there are times when both Rozz and Bexey approach the tracks with a bit too much avant-garde vocals. Though Rozz is the most intelligible and he's usually on beat, there's a lot of moments where you hear him and you're like... what is this guy talking about? What does this have to do with the song? Bexey has trouble staying on beat even in the songs he drops today, IMO, so in this album we hear him in an even less polished state. He attacks his tracks with such confidence that you kinda wanna listen and bop your head, but he tries so many odd vocal tics and not-quite-there rhymes / lines that it's easy to get knocked out of the vibe that the instrumentals are bringing to the table. 

It's a bit of a shame, too, because the tenuous state of these guys can actually ruin what is otherwise really cool, unique music. "Hardcore Vibes All Night Long", for example, starts off great and energetic, but as soon as Rozz hits the track you're sucked into another off-topic verse about... something he's going through with some girl (no, the lyrics aren't available - that's how you know this is a real underground classic!), then by the end of the verse his flow switches up twice... neither time really hitting any stride. By the time Bexey starts gesticulating over the rave-like beat he's on a whole other tempo than Rozz and its pretty hard to understand him through his gimmicky voice changes. 

This is just one example of a sick song made a bit difficult to get into because of the uniqueness of these two. Rozz croons about women or how fucked up he is in the head; Bexey tries his hand at falsettos, conversations with himself via ad-libs, and creepy prophet-like anecdotes. Meanwhile the beats make you want to dance or bop your shoulders or something. See the oddness now? "Do It Now" suffers from the same issue I believe, and it's also one of those songs that's too short for its own good. I think everyone in the mid 2010s had a thing for this... maybe it was the BONES influence?

Anyways, despite the flaws present here, I think Instant Rush has its exciting moments, and I don't think there's any other album out there that sounds quite like this. For that alone it's worth a listen and maybe even a download. Up to you!

DREAM...