I've been posting about mysterious experimental electronic artist As I Am since early 2012 when it was Big Two-Hearted and was more than one person and they had just released a quirky dropxlife remix. A lot has changed since then: the sound (which arguably changes with each new song), the production has improved, the lyrics have become more potent, and overall As I Am has improved his aesthetic. And all of this time there has been talk of an album, a mixtape, some kind of LP-length release from him. Well, it has finally arrived over two years later. As I Am has released his debut album/mixtape O.
If you've followed As I Am since the beginning you can see how O is a summation of everything he's created up to this point. Before he was getting photo ops with Jay Electronica or could even afford his first drum machine, As I Am was making music by whatever means he could, even with cell phone recordings. The cell phone recording is an important motif in O. It sits right in the mix of the best production As I Am has ever done.
He produced, mixed and mastered this album entirely himself and it is a journey. A journey to where, you ask? "Welcome to my world," he says on the first track "1", and that's all you need to know. There are many things that can be discussed about this album, but at the same time it seems beyond words. There are moments that people will talk about, like the clip of Jay Elect voicing something rather controversial at 2012's Budweiser Made in America Festival over an ominous bass drone in the album's dead center for starters. But, it will probably take many listens for the album to fully reveal itself.
Why only use numbers for titles? Why is it called O? Download the album below and start listening to find out. At this point we still don't know who As I Am is... he could be anybody.
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Posted in: As I Am,Electronic,Experimental,Indie,Jay Electronica,Made in America,o,Rap,spoken word
