My God. Where did this man come from? What does he want from us? Who did he sell his soul to for this sick beat?

Though he is shrouded in mystery, Cloudy October also lives across the street from me. We've chatted a few times—he's got a good sense of humor (as this song illustrates) and I like his style. But when I hear Cloudy's music, I feel like I don't know the guy at all. In this world, he's a bit off-kilter and perhaps shares more in common with Kool Keith or Charles Bukowski than I would have guessed.

That's encouraging.


Art isn't supposed to mirror the safe conversations you have with acquaintances, it's supposed to pull your insides out and say something truthful. Truth can be ugly and brutal and confusing. Truth doesn't have to make sense. And Cloudy can confuse. Case in point:

"Sculpt like a river/ Walk like a mental patient/ Am I on some weak shit/ Or beyond your expectations?/ Rappers around me think that they are pros/ This is why I don't fuck after my all-age shows/ I'm a marathon of nightmares wrapped in black skin/ What I wouldn't give for a little bit a action"

Of course, there are too many befuddling rhymes here to take apart line-by-line. The poetic, nonsensical opening verses let you know just the kind of ride you're in for; The section that begins "White Rapper..." lets you know that everything is on the table for discussion. And squished in are lines of genius, including one that stopped me cold in my tracks the first time I heard it live:

"Television wasn't as bright as us when we were kids."

Wait, what? That's an incredible little haiku of a lyric (I know it's not technically a haiku, you trolls), and the ramifications of it are kind of startling. Similarly:

"You rhyme like you've never seen a black woman naked."

That is explosive, offensive, poetic and striking. And yet I have no idea what practical advantage seeing black women naked would lend an MC's skills.

Other lines ("Probable possible hypnotical knock your skull/ Methodical obstacles get caught in the hospital") seem intended only to build a Jenga tower of rhymes, and I can't help shaking the feeling that Cloudy uses those passages as a sort of insulation between revelations. But then, Idunno, this guy is mystifying in a lot of ways. I can't wait to hear this whole record.

HEAR IT: Metal Jerk comes out Oct. 18 as a free digital download. Read about it and download this single here.