The slow accelerando at the start of ‘Hoes’, by 18 year-old solo artist DESO300, is telling of the new approach he’s taking to his releases. With previous singles like ‘Last February’ and ‘Tired Sick’, we’ve seen a hard push in the emotion behind the Cobain-esque lyrics about self harm and self deprecation. ‘Hoes’, however, moves onto a different and more mature path.
DESO300 (AKA ‘Boogeyman’) seems to be finding his true voice through a process of addition by subtraction. The North Carolina native knows that the tone itself comes second to the effect of the music, and when that effect is created through the soulful and dynamic vocals on the tape you can strip back the arrangement to reveal so much more. It’s encouraging to hear that through the experimentation of the previous releases, Boogeyman is able to rely on his own voice and the power of each lyric to be the real strength in his recordings. While tempting for any artist to go emotionally all-out when discussing dark subjects, ‘Hoes’ is artfully withheld - allowing just enough pause after “suicide lines on my left wrist” to really let the words settle.
This more nuanced writing style allows Boogeyman to get closer to what he’s been trying to achieve from the beginning - giving the listeners a clearer view of the goings-on inside his mind. The future looks bright for this young self-producer so watch this space.