‘Emmanuel’

By carolinianweb on October 2, 2019 • ( 0 )

Roni Martinez
Staff Writer

Ameer Vann is a troubled soul with a bright potential in the rap game today. It is difficult not to bring up Brockhampton when discussing Ameer. Despite the drama he went through in regards to his ejection from the rap collective that he helped grow, he is undoubtedly a talented individual. Ameer creates a very dark tone on his most recent EP , ‘Emmanuel’, through discussing suicidal thoughts, criminal activity and violence towards those that disrespect him.

He also takes multiple jabs at Brockhampton, showing anger for how they have treated his departure, specifically the way they use it as subject matter for their songs. However, he also shows regret for his actions that affected the group on songs like ‘Emmanuel’.

This EP as a whole emulates Ameer’s thoughts and how his brain works. One minute he’s talking about regret and suffering from suicidal thoughts, the next he’s resorting to violence and hurting people. Clocking in at 16 minutes, the EP leaves listeners hungry for more in both the number of songs and variety of subject matter. The EP feels like it’s being mostly directed by his feelings about Brockhampton, which makes the listening experience slightly repetitive, and leaves listeners with a want for the iconic sound that Ameer created back when he was still with the group.

Ameer opens up the EP with the title track ‘Emmanuel’ where he lays everything out on the table. He wastes no time starting in on his depression, family issues, girl troubles and violence in his life. The way Ameer takes on a quiet and troubled tone and confesses everything he feels is almost bone chilling.

On the next track, ‘Pop Trunk’, Ameer continues the imagery of his death by stating “This my eulogy, dig into the roots of me.” Later on in the song he reveals that he has been concealing his suicidal thoughts, also claiming he will only be at peace once he lays to rest. Ameer emphasizes his sadness and desperation on these first two tracks, treating them almost like a sort of therapy for him.

On the next track, ‘Glock 19’, Ameer completely shifts gears. We see a much more angry side to Ameer, vulnerable in a different way. Still talking about subject matter such as depression and drug use, but from this point on Ameer’s presence changes drastically. His rapping becomes much more hard hitting. Literally yelling at some points, we see a version of Ameer similar to the one that used to rap alongside members of Brockhampton in songs like ‘Heat’. Citing examples of violence as being a solution to certain problems, Ameer harks back to his classic style of being the criminal figure in a storyline. He also takes his first jabs at Brockhampton on this track talking about how distraught he’s been since they parted ways, saying, “Hearts still heavy, I been lookin’ for my friends.” The chorus may also be in reference to the group, where he says, “You don’t really know about that like that.” He could possibly be referencing the thuggish personas that the Brockhampton members have taken on in the past.

In the song ‘Los Angeles’, Ameer goes on a whole diatribe about Brockhampton. Talking about how moving their operation was a factor in their falling out, also claiming that they are using their split to generate more money and listens, as Ameer raps, “Use my name as a meal ticket.” It’s depressing to see Ameer aiming so much anger towards the group, because it takes away from the greatness that we could be seeing from Ameer. The EP sounds good and Ameer’s abilities are substantial, but you can tell that he could give much more to his listeners by moving on.

We are able to see Ameer’s potential in the first half of the song “Sunday Night”. It starts off with a catchy chorus, an enticing first verse where he shows off his lyrical prowess, and a second verse that keeps the same energy. Then the 3rd verse hits, and Ameer begins discussing Brockhampton again. It’s a disappointing turn in a catchy song, but also a great example of what Ameer should aim to avoid on his next project.

Ameer has created a project with a very prominent handicap, that being his residual feelings towards the Brockhampton situation. His resentment makes it difficult to fully enjoy his work, but maybe this is a good sign. Maybe now that he has let it all out, he can come out with something much more entertaining and meaningful next time around. The most notable track on the EP ‘Emmanuel’ has to be ‘Sunday Night’ for the potential it shows in a direction that Ameer should follow from here on out. Hopefully in the future Ameer will come out with something that fans of his can hold onto more personally.