THE CULTURE GYRE 

BY: Ian Sherry

11/25/22

On November 10, 2022, Quadeca released his newest project I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You.

 

Quadeca is 22 years old. In those 22 years, he has been very busy. He started a YouTube channel in 2012 which has accumulated 1.95 millions subscribers. In 2015 at age 15, he released his first album. His rapping until recently was a sort of side hobby, but in the last few years his focus has shifted to his music - so much so, that when you google Quadeca, aka. Benjamin Lasky, he is listed as an American rapper. His music has always been mildly compelling, clearly drawing from different inspirations at every turn. But ultimately, it wasn’t very good. He mostly employed basic rapping flows and his wordplay, though occasionally clever, was clunky and often interfered with the rhythm of his verses. It felt like his many ideas were constantly stepping over each other to the point that he failed to produce cohesive projects. 

Something changed in 2021. From Me To You marked Quadeca’s first push at a laser-focused album. Though it still had many of the same issues, the album featured more unique production, new delivery styles, and a more vulnerable approach that allowed him to focus on a more singular theme. It wasn’t impressive overall, but it was a big step in the right direction for Quadeca. That being said, coming into 2022, he had not proven himself.

 

I heard murmurs heading into the rollout of I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You that Quadeca had stumbled into something. There were minimal details, but the consensus of those in-the-know was that something special was in the works. I was interested, but not convinced-- until I heard “born yesterday.” This first single of Quadeca’s 2022 project set the tone for what has become one of my favorite releases of the year. I’ll do my best to explain it, but the truth is you ought to hear it for yourself. “born yesterday” brings raw emotion that he has never communicated before and does it in an epic way. It tells the story of a broken love and it feels like catharsis. One that was long overdue. The pain in his voice is beautiful and it mixes perfectly with the production’s highs, lows and moments of chaos to create a strong candidate for song of the year.

“sorry4dying” is a great introduction to the narrative and production style Quadeca chose for his album. It's followed by the second single “tell me a joke”, and the two combined set the tone perfectly for the rest of the record. Their scratchy production is very unique, at its best balancing minimalist styles with an organized clutter to create the intense environment in which Quadeca thrives. The anger and pain is evident in every lyric and his delivery only adds to it. It's easy to see what I mean on these first two songs, and it's clear he feels most comfortable when he is able to replicate this sound throughout the album. 

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The three most unique songs on the album show up successively with “house settling”, “knots”, and then “fantasyworld”. While none of them are perfect, I am thrilled that he tried each of them, and in my opinion, this is the stretch that really cements this album. 

“house settling” includes the first and most important feature of the album in Danny Brown. The first half of the song is admittedly a little bit messy but its energy does the job of mimicking a moment of intense emotion which Danny Brown puts into words around the halfway mark. His verse is perfect. He shouts out an emotional yet targeted summary of his side of a breakup and provides a nice break from the continuous metaphor with his brutal honesty. It's messy but effective. “Knots” follows it with a continuation of the energy Danny Brown brought to the song before. It's essentially an electronic punk song. It's loud, incoherent, entertaining, and the furthest Quadeca has ever ventured from his comfort zone. The third member of this trilogy, “fantasyworld”, is a complete directional switch. After the sonic intensity of the previous songs, Quadeca returns with his slowest paced song of the album. It's long but doesn’t feel that way. He portrays his pain in the opposite light, instead of the vengeful attitude of the previous songs he just puts his vulnerability on display. It's touching, but more importantly, it is a blatant display of the versatility that I think could fuel a long career for Quadeca.

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Quadeca finishes the album perfectly. This is a difficult task, especially when trying to complete a narrative like he has on this record. With “fractions of infinity” he returns to a similar vein as “tell me a joke” except this time he has a choir. It has all the same minimalist production and a similar delivery, but this time, it has background vocals and a chorus reminiscent of some of Beach House’s best songs. It finishes with a stripped down instrumental break and a full feature from the Sunday Service Choir. “fractions of infinity” shows not only that Quadeca is comfortable collaborating with yet another style of musician(s), but that he is capable of making it feel like a Quadeca song. 

The album ends with “cassini’s division”. It is a spoken piece delivered over a collection of different sound bites that come together perfectly to create an eerie atmosphere in which Quadeca can leave his audience. Quadeca decided to finish I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You with nearly three minutes of static on the back end of “cassini’s division”. Though it's an artistic choice that may not please the ears, I think it's a perfect way to show how he felt cut short, and there’s no better way to complete an album than on the artist’s own terms.

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I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You is the story of a man who’s love meant so much to him that when it was taken, his life ended. The album is everything he left unsaid, told from the perspective of someone who ran out of time. Quadeca put everything into this album in an attempt to fully embody his character and it shows. He even has an hour long video to coincide with the album on his YouTube page if that interests you. I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You is admittedly messy at times, and Qudeca’s vocal performances and lyrical abilities show a clear room for improvement, but ultimately, it's a success. It is entirely written, produced, and performed by Quadeca and his hand selected features. To me, it’s evidence that hard work, talent, and passion are the key ingredients to any masterpiece. In this case it's Quadeca’s masterpiece.

 

Quadeca’s I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You is a 7.75/10.