Featuring melodic rappers The Kid LAROI and Trippie Redd, EKKSTACY’s new project is more expansive and dynamic than anything the 21-year-old musician has yet made. EKKSTACY came up on his brooding, raw sound — epitomized by his breakthrough single “i walk this earth all by myself” — but here we find him, increasingly involved in the music’s production, leaning into brighter indie rock and surf punk sounds that epitomize an increasing confidence in his craft.
EKKSTACY’s got everything. ADHD-core but make it cohesive. It’s big, it’s reflective, it might even make you wanna mosh a little. There’s the soft pensiveness of “Problems,” to which Trippie Redd contributed (EKKSTACY “came up listening to Trip,” so it’s notably special), the windy riffs of “the headless horseman lost his way,” reminiscent of the emo-post-hardcore of Title Fight, the dulcet, bouncy moodiness of “alright,” the Kid LAROI collaboration. And there’s the one EKKSTACY calls The One: “bella,” which is like if you took all of EKKSTACY’s faves and influences and rolled it into one 2:30-minute banger. Picture EKKSTACY’s fans packed into one of the huge rooms he plays, all pogo-ing.