THANKFUL/SKITTLES

More than a year after his scintillating debut album 4REAL, 454 (aka Squills) made his return in a swan pedal boat and dropped off a two-sided 45 for us. “THANKFUL” and “SKITTLES”.

On 4REAL, Squills brought something fresh to the table with his use of pitch & tempo shifting on several tracks to provide an inventive and dualistic lens. This technique was best showcased on tracks like “FACE TIME”, “ANDRETTI” and “LATE NIGHT”. Each track begins with Squills in a pitched-up world that sounds like balmy interstate speeding and colorful Florida bass. Midway through the track after a short bridge or interlude, he morphs the instrumental into a “chopped” and pitched-down mirror of itself. This side of the track moves you to a much moodier place that sounds like a sedated and sultry stroll on the same interstate, despite the lyrical content being unchanged. It’s a clever technique that produces 2 complementary servings of the same idea, while also avoiding redundancy. At its core this record is a gallery of blissful psychedelics and hulking bass that puts the listener in a trance while also managing to keep them engaged.

Nearly half a year after releasing 4REAL, the Floridian skate icon earned his first momentous signal boost when his album was used for the launch of Frank Ocean’s new luxury brand “homer”. This brought hordes of new listeners to the project, many even expected it to be new music from Ocean himself. While there was plenty of positive reception, the critics surfaced in equal strength. The uninitiated and uninterested were quick to incorrectly dismiss Squills as a “mumbling SoundCloud rapper”. And, while ‘mumble rap’ as a genre has undertaken a reclamation of sorts, the derogatory roots of the label are still apparent.

However, it doesn’t take more than a listen of tracks 1-3 to realize how lazy of a misclassification this is. You could argue that the vocals can be lost behind the relentlessly dreamlike and booming production. But, the lyrical content itself is more than substantial and often emotionally charged. As both a producer and a songwriter, Squills’ raw talent is simply undeniable. He continues to force his way to the front of the cloud rap sphere on this two-track.

On “THANKFUL”, Squills glides in on a bouncy rework of an instrumental originating from ZelooperZ’s “Fryd”. The hat-heavy production from BNYX® is a less dreamy take on the original beat, but still leaves room for Squills to float over the ethereal guitar/keys. This track is mostly centered around Squills showing gratitude towards his tight-knit family for the support they provided him as a youth. He also references his adolescent desires to skip school in favor of skating and finessing (or firing) his way to the next dollar. This is a breezy banger positioned perfectly for the summer.

On the other side of this 45 is the self-produced “SKITTLES”. This one comes barreling in from the extended intro, with that familiar thumping Florida bass and an emotive adlib performance from Squills that is consistent throughout the track. The vocals on this track are pitched up to a ‘baby voice’ octave higher than anything you’ll hear on 4REAL, intensifying his inherently infectious energy. These accelerated vocals are a perfect companion to the electronic and video game-like synths and strings laced into the production. The execution on “SKITTLES” perfectly encapsulates the forward-thinking and creativity that makes Squills’ artistry so captivating. It’s exciting to hear his sound evolve and I’m geeked to hear whatever project he has coming next.

If you liked what you heard, listen to 4REAL in it’s entirety below.

Who gon whoop Me?