Nonstop mind-numbing livestreams, engagement farming YouTube series, and infinite scrolling: These are the innovations of an internet-brain-rotted generation that craves constant stimuli. che, newly 18, understands this. Since his first album, closed captions, the rapper has capitalized on this knowledge by eliminating all empty space in his music, crafting dense, wall-of-sound orchestration that leaves no room to breathe. On his riot-inducing new album, Sayso Says, he delivers escapist party anthems whose maximalist sound masks a slightly hollow perspective.
With the help of usual partner in crime natexco and a few other degenerates, che architects glitchy, fast-paced textures designed to spike dopamine and fend off melatonin with reckless disregard for the impending crash. It feels like being invited to your friend’s house when their parents are away for a weekend. Che abuses the freedom and loads up FL Studio with every erratic plugin, dizzying instrument, and obscure reference he can get his hands on. Listen to the scattered array of synths on “NUNCA HACER COCAINA,” which, in a different environment, could make up the quirkiest text tone ever. Or “GET NAKED,” where a Japanese vocaloid sample hangs in the background and goads che on as he teases plebeians for eating catfish. Over 17 tracks, it all adds up to a lot to process, but processing isn’t the goal. che’s here to provoke nerve after nerve and provide an #experience.
Che’s woozy vocal maneuvers are something of a guide through the noise as he unfurls stuttered flows and TED Talk-style chants amidst the whirlwind of chaotic production. He’s essentially Costa from Project X, urging you to avoid anything that might ruin the high. On “Hex On My Chest, It’s Going Down,” he repeats motivational refrains (“It’s okay to be down, just get through it”) as a ticking time bomb of hi-hats and ragey synths lurk in the shadows. On other tracks, he disassembles pop filters and summons a childlike glee when flexing the capabilities of his armory and unleashing random digs at Lil Xan; it’s like watching a kid open presents on Christmas morning. The only time che slows down and contemplates is on the nightmarish ballad “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things,” where, in a deafening glare of synth pads, he cries out until the signal gets lost. On closer “My Favorite Color Is Red,” his final magic trick is flooding his voice under a sea of fuzzy bass until a spooky echo of screams slowly dissipates.
If che brought the same keen attention to detail to his songwriting that’s evident in his world-building, Sayso Says would feel fully realized. Most of the time, though, che’s filling up the lyric sheet with generic “Hollywood girls” and bland boasts about being “cooler than” some imaginary foe. Take a rapper like Ken Carson, for example, who has transformed his sound in the last year by sketching out his hedonistic Atlanta lair with newly playful imagery. Without a Google search, you’d never imagine che is from the same city. It’s clear on Sayso Says that che knows immersive atmospheres will always draw listeners in. But in order to keep them there, he’ll need to flesh out the finer points.
