At the start of April, hip-hop artist M. J. Meyers released his debut album, a 7-track long body of work called Hollow Shell of a Better Man (A Painful Representation of an Unsatisfying Existence).
To tell the truth; it’s deep, it brings up depressing themes, and it’s emotionally heavy. To tell the truth again; I enjoyed every minute of it despite the sad and downbeat topics that are featured. Anyway, I’m sure you could tell from the album title that it wasn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows. M. J. Meyers has done a great job here. It’s far too easy to miss the mark when it comes to an album of this nature and subject, but the recordings really capture the raw energy he’s clearly put into it, which makes it a fascinating listen. Furthermore, it isn’t just all gloomy and down in the dumps; there’s a strong progression through the album, telling a story of mental health struggles.
It starts with Hollow Intro which features some mysterious sound effects, over which M. J. Meyers tells the listeners what’s to come. He mentions that he’s depressed and that this will inform the majority of the album’s song topics. This short intro fades into Hollow Shell, a trap song which gives us quite the shock… a psychedelic guitar solo! Yes, that’s right, this hip-hop artist rapping his way through a trap song really just thought “you know what, let’s have some 1960s style guitar right here”. Strange, but I can’t think of many other hip-hop artists and rappers that would think to do that. It sounds great; it fits perfectly and adds an extra layer of intrigue to his work.
The tune that was released as a single before the album, Bad History, is an absolute banger, to put it simply. It has a chorus you won’t forget any time soon and despite its vulnerable and pessimistic lyrics, it still sounds somewhat happy in how it’s sang. Many of the lines in the verses are questions, which furthers the feeling of uncertainty that M. J. Meyers is so open about. The way he enunciates each word in the verses really shows how much energy and passion he’s putting into it. You can really hear the emotion in his voice, and I love it. Interestingly, at the end of this song, we hear him talking more optimistically. It sounds as if he’s talking to himself in a mirror, reassuring himself “I’ve got this.” We hear another hint of psychedelic guitar work at the end of this tune too.
It's very impressive how spot-on M. J. Meyers is with the collaborations on this album. The soft and relaxing piano that features as the most prominent instrument on Dunno Why is complimented beautifully by the voice of Violetta, who provides angelic “ooooo”s during the verses. Her dulcet tones also work perfectly in the choruses of the song. Similarly, we get another fitting collab on this album with the appearance of Cheshire musician, Rob, on Die 22.
This album hits all sort of levels, from the mellow and subtle Dunno Why to the hard-hitting, no-messing-about style of the trap song Better Man. The album ends with Hollow Outro which starts off with some more sweet piano sounds, very slow. The piano then picks up speed as M. J. Meyers starts to speak; he speaks retrospectively about the past year since he started recording the album, noting that he was at his “lowest point” when he started writing it. He then expresses that he’s now much more hopeful about life, which is amazing to hear. He then introduces a poem which he reads as a spoken word piece with effectively soft yet dramatic piano alongside his voice. This is a great way to end an album and I’d like to hear this type of thing more often. Poetry is a beautiful art that needs more people like M. J. Meyers to revive it in the music industry.
This is a mental health album, straight up. M. J. Meyers is unapologetic in his openness and vulnerability, and this is something we should all be encouraged to do. He is clearly against the idea of suffering in silence, and it’s brilliant that he’s made an album about his own struggles with mental health. This album is a piece of art that I hope a lot of people will listen to.
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