Album Review: Rite of Passage by insyt.
The Canadian rapper-producer made most of these beats himself and raps over them about staying alive as day labor. He carries the weight his verses claim.
The voice you hear on the “Passage” introduction belongs to an educator, Jawanza Kunjufu, from the Rites of Passage into Manhood program. He speaks at the lectern, thanks his guests, and then tells the room that modern Black men consider manhood to be only the extent of smoking reefers, drinking wine, and producing babies. Previously, it was evident to everybody who the Black boys are who become men. insyt. finds this message very important.
He is the papa of the prince, and he is hard-working until the last detail on “Shrapnel.” The constant will is pushing him onward, though he is hearing the cracking of the shells of who he was and of the man he is becoming. In the song, there is a voice of the man who is describing his urge to make something non-existing. The hunger gets the body in “Rib Cage”: “Starving, I’m an artist/A heart of hurt mixed with bloody ink.” On “Spilled Ink,” it is painful to recall, but he is getting paid to extract painful memories and walk through glass while keeping his viewpoint.
He lies in bed remembering the dream and asks to be rejuvenated on “360°.” After he has almost recovered, he puts his toes on the edge of the bed, saying: “Toes pokin’ off the ledge, got me thinkin’ ‘bout the fall/Had me backin’ up my steps, perseverance hit a wall.” Then he jumps from the bed, finds his inner underdog, starts all over and spits a verse: “It remind me I exist, know the only way be up.” At the end of the story, he runs the same escape in speed mode on “Urgency // Collapse.” Breathing in deeply after coming up out of the water and realizing that he paid his dues and bought himself some time by letting go of the memories of the past years. He hears the voice that tells him he has only made it halfway and that he is ready to die.
His business is all in order on “Aorta.” The aorta is bleeding, phonies are moving everywhere, but the applause continues to be sweet. An old man’s voice calls out not to change because of these phonies, to keep the matter as it is even if no one accepts it. Borrowed voices stand around his verses as corner-men. The road he chose on Ebb only leads to this future, and he is going to reach it. He is broken and surrendered to God on Flatline, pleading his case, while the audience watches his life on stage and hears his song. He even dreams about dying singing in this song, “I was even singing in my past life/Music in my flatline.”
The second verse of “Odds” comes from the more difficult sphere of the hero and is represented by Eyeswideshut: Humble home, bullet holes through the iron. Trauma has trapped him closely that it became his part of his identity, and he cannot escape from this. He drinks his tall cups, promises loud death in case he gets trapped and relaxes near gunshots since that is his background. The calmer part of the hero’s persona is portrayed by insyt. He dreams of a long ride, of freedom he can wait for. He is ready to roll the dice and face the odds.
The weight of the world is in his hand, at “Toll,” together with a few errors he had to restart and numerous regrets he had to leave behind. On “Strife” he moves on: “I hope I die warm by the life that I tried.” He thanks the mazes, the shame in the void, the anger he keeps inside himself, and the strife in his core, and he comes out alive. Being 24 on “June Baby,” he moves slowly towards 25, being thankful with every breath and leaving an address where he could be found.
insyt. attempts to turn “Ashes” into a joke, but it fails to get off the ground. He looks in the mirror at the new man before him, and then he’s off, and the rapper never finds out who that new person was. The other song that is only performed by one person is “Carousel” by Kelly Moonstone. She sings about the cycles of life and where you put your feet in the richest soil. It looks easy enough for her to just jump on and off like that, leaving no scratches.
After entering “Matinée,” he starts to forget his lyrics, trip and become frozen, wishing for a better situation from the top of the valley and appraising his songs: Only a part of what his songs could achieve. He rinses, repeats, rinses again, and finds his creation as an unblemished one. Nevertheless, the change he wanted was never free for him. If one raps this verse like another rep, the bigger and more genuine claim would be available, namely that the change starts from walking and his feet are already in motion.
Great (★★★★☆)
Favorite Track(s): “Odds,” “Toll,” “Strife”