ITSOKTOCRY is one of the most prolific up and comers in the entire music industry. He might appear to be just another dude who got face tattoos, painted his nails, and dyed his hair, but his story goes much deeper than that. He’s also making some of the most creative and out of the box music in the entire scene, but people seem to still sleep on him much more than they should. I first heard of him through his collaboration with one of my favorite Virginia-based artists 909Memphis and dove deeper into CRY’s world after being captivated as soon as he began to speak.
Most recently, he decided to surprise fans with a brand-new song called “get a clue!” along with an accompanying video off of the upcoming follow-up to his breakthrough album POSHBOY. The instrumental was co-produced by Damon Vitucci and Jodom, two hitmakers that I was previously unfamiliar with but definitely appreciate the sounds they brought to life in order to create a solid base for CRY to do his thing on. To begin with, there are bubbly, almost make-believe sounding piano keys or synths of some sort that provide a bit of haste prior to insistent percussion and succinct, punchy drums entering the scene as well. Although this seems to be like a very busy beat, it doesn’t take away from the completely individualistic approach that CRY always seems to take with his high-pitched, playful delivery.
He spits his bars quickly and consistently which makes some of the lines hard to decipher on the spot, but you can pick out certain words and piece these lines together as they pass, appreciating the wordplays and double entendres he always gets creative with. Almost halfway through, he switches his flow slightly to the point where he’s stressing certain lines so much that it almost comes off as if he’s out of breath before changing it up once again to an almost whisper-like delivery, showing off his dexterity yet again. As far as lyrics are concerned, it seems as if he focuses on his delivery and enthusiasm more than the actual meaningfulness behind his messages, but that shouldn’t take away from all of the creative angles he’s taking to provide some of the most entertaining lines you’ll hear all week.
As the video begins, we’re introduced to some sort of futuristic computer system that is booting up as digital sounds sporadically play in the background. Out of nowhere, we’re taken to a scene in some sort of alley or street and get our first glimpse of CRY as he dances around and recites his lines. The shots cut back and forth extremely rapidly which makes it hard to get a good look at the artist, but you can see his trademark face tattoos and individualistic style even with the quick peeks you get. While this alleyway seems to be the only major setting throughout, there are other clips of a Hello Kitty looking cartoon character that represents CRY considering his tattoos and style are transferred onto this animated character who also dances around and spits his lyrics. Additionally, there is an abundance of visual effects used throughout to elevate the energy that comes through in the song, bringing this visual to new levels. For the most part, these effects are colorful and blur the screen at times, making the recordings look as if they’re malfunctioning or like the original computer that we were introduced to at the beginning was glitching for some reason. This also added some organized anarchy to the already briskly changing scenes, turning up the swiftness within the track itself once again.
After checking out this new song and visual, you should understand why I have such high praise and admiration for the Denver musician. There’s absolutely no one else in the industry making music like him and it goes deeper than just his sound or visual aesthetic. His wordplays are dynamic and entertaining, his cadences are on another level, and his story is one you have to look up because it’s much more interesting and humbling than you might expect. CRY is just one hundred percent unapologetically himself and that means he’s not afraid to take risks and try out new things if it means it’s something he’s going to enjoy because he’s already got an extremely strong cult fanbase that is going to support him and enjoy these experimentations as well. POSHBOY 2, which is set to be released in October if I’m not mistaken, couldn’t come soon enough, but that gives potential fans and newcomers to his world plenty of time to catch up on all of the unbelievable music they’ve been missing out on prior to this. While you’re here, check out ITSOKTOCRY’s latest offering called “get a clue!” and then head over to his SoundCloud to peep even more chaotically incredible music he has made over the years.