I was playing at SOB's earlier this year, and 6IX9INE popped up on stage (with Casanova, it was the day after they squashed their beef) next to the DJ booth. I was like "whaaaa," then asked him for a pic, at which point I put my phone on selfie mode and pressed… the wrong fucking button. But he let me take another one, and my takeway from the encounter was "hmmm, he is nice." I had "Billy" cued up, but right before he hit the stage for an impromptu performance (right after Cas did "Set Trippin," which was crazy bc when he says "punch you in the face, muthafucka I knock ya teeth out," he's going at Tekashi; they must have REALLY squashed their beef.), he said, politely, that he'd rather do "Gummo," and of course, I was like "bet." Man, the energy this guy can conjure up is crazy. Mind you, the people in the venue were NOT there for Tekashi, but they rocked with him heavy, and he even crowd surfed for the last 40-50 seconds of the song. Controversial? Yes. Problematic? For sure. The biggest troll in pop culture right now? 100%. But if you're a rap/music fan in 2018, you can't deny that his colorful persona & aggressive, urgent sound need to be seen, heard, and given some thought to. Now the hard question: can we separate his music/art from his personal/legal issues? Sidebar: did you peep Kanye's new album? Check out "Keke," "Kooda," and "Gotti" in addition to the aforementioned.

• rainbow vinyl
• includes digital download of Day69
• music label: Scumgang Records 2018

reviewed by pocari papi 08/18