Herme$ - LUNA DE SANGRE 2 (2019)

Where can trap music go, if not deeper and deeper into the underground? Into the trenches? Into hell?

Herme$ brings that idea to musical fruition with his stunning mixtape Luna de Sangre 2. Here you'll find raw, corrupted trap that goes into overdrive making things sound as chaotic and dark as possible. This thing literally sounds like it has PS2 graphics. 

Herme$ (aka HXRMX$ - as the mixtape cover implies - and VSOP HERMES as Soundcloud states) is a member of Spaceghostpurrp's BlackMoneyBoyz crew, also known as the VSOP Gang, a collective whose other members include VSOP Evil Haze (a producer working with CHXPO and Five Finger Posse) as well as TRIPPJONES, a great rapper in his own right. Herme$ works prolifically and cryptically, and he's got the dedication to aesthetic as well as the ear for a sound that I think makes him stand out and warrant noticing. He's either trapping, making anime references, and/or fucking hoes in the midst of the real life trenches... sounds sick as hell if you ask me...

Luna de Sangre 2 begins with the cavernous "Blvck Mxney". The beat is repetitive and dark, and immediately we can hear Herme$' signature narcotic-tinged mumble. Heaps of effects twist Herme$' voice into something demonic, otherworldly, and it's made all the more effective by the fact that he seems to be mixed between the beat - it's hard to tell where his leaned out gibberish starts and where the crazy bass ends. "UFO" comes in with more of the greatness, assaulting our eardrums with what seems to be laser-precise, hypnotic delirium; the flow is repetitive, the beat is relentless, and the vibe is dark.

This tape is barely 20 minutes long, but already in the third song we're treated to the "Blxxd Mxxn 2 Interlude". Herme$ is somehow even less recognizable here, with his phaser-effected voice literally drowned out by the glossy and energizing beat. There isn't much of a difference between the Interlude and the rest of the tape, to be honest, but part of the appeal is the nonsensical insanity, I think.

"Super Android 17" and "Reanimated", which follow, are two of my favorite tracks to be found on the tape. In the first Herme$ gives us insight into his background with lots of throwaway lines about the hopelessness of his community, the BMB/VSOP gang's loyalty and ruthlessness, the "hentai shawty on [his] shirt", etc. "Reanimated" brings us back again to the "anime trap" niche popularized by the Soundcloud godfathers, in which most of the track goes by with Herme$ relating us to a phenomenon I think a lot of us can relate to: feeling immortal, as gods, and coming back to life "like Madara [Uchiha, of Naruto legend!]". 

Things get aggressive on "Need Me" with its dark strip club type beat, and we see Herme$ approach an entirely new high-pitched vocal sound that just glides over the haunting moan sample in the background. There's a lot to be said here for the willingness to experiment and mix all kinds of chaotic styles to produce something truly unique, even harrowing. Following tracks "Purple on Me" and "Miami Nights" keep things low-key with the bass booming and the chaotic lines continuing; sparse features by 4jay and ICXXY keep things interesting enough that it's always exciting when you hear Herme$' signature demonic murmuring return.

"RIP to Lil Peep / I'mma let the blood drip on yo bitch..." 

For one of the newest stars to break out of the Soundcloud wave, especially one in SGP's BMB crew , Herme$ uses this short tape to prove himself as an artistic force to be reckoned with. There's not much going on in variety of flows, and the lyrical subject matter rarely rises above typical ignorance, but this niche he carves for himself is one that's polished and consistently impressive. Godfather SGP is known as someone that pushes the aesthetic to its absurd extremes in every possible way, and Herme$ does a significant job keeping that same type of dismal worldbuilding going. As he says on "Super Android 17", things often sound truly otherworldly ("I'm on Saturn right now recording this shit...").

Like when I reviewed trench legend Sub9k, I'm not going to front like this is a revolutionary mixtape that's going to change the game. That's just wishful thinking. I do think this tape has a lot going for it though, and if you're at all interested in what feels like the future of Soundcloud rap - forward thinking, dense, hypnotic, intensely dark, often dissonant repetition - this is something you'll greatly enjoy. I hope you give it a good listen.

P.S: If you're interested in Herme$ as an artist, I found this hour long interview of his on Soundcloud; give it a listen, there's a few intriguing moments here!

DREAM...