$uicideboy$' I Want To Die In New Orleans is them at their most abrasive

Getting into $uicideboy$ is a daunting task. The New Orleans-based US rap duo have over 200 tracks on their Soundcloud account - many of them with play counts in the millions - and every year, it feels like they release another collection of mixtapes; many of them individually hitting over ten tracks each. That said, the dark-rap duo are one of the world's most prominent, following suit from artists such as Denzel Curry in their aggressive hip-hop which over the years, has seen them tour Australia (with Perth's ORIGIN NYE as an exclusive performance, a pair of east-coast sold-out shows last year, and next, a run of headline shows booked for January 2019) and been labelled one of the world's most exciting and refreshing - so it's definitely worth getting into them. But where do you start?

Following on from years of mixtapes and single releases, last month saw $uicideboy$ release their debut album I Want To Die In New Orleans - an extensive, 14-track body of work that encapsulates their sound while pushing them further than they've ever pushed before. Originally titled I Don't Want to Die in New Orleans, the long-awaited delayed project covers the rise of $uicideboy$ over the last few years: "We started recording this album in the beginning of 2017," the duo say on the album. Initially, we wanted to write about our experiences on the road and express how our lives had become slightly more extravagant. When the original release date for the album approached, we realised that the album didn’t capture that chapter of our lives correctly.

"After travelling the globe on two back-to-back sold-out world tours, amassing a fortune, spending an insane amount of money on drugs, losing friends, making enemies and witnessing this scene that we helped create turn into what it is now, we have decided that none of this fame or money will ever make us happy," the duo continue, before explaining the album's name change - which was announced on Twitter alongside the announcement that the record which feature no guests (with the exception of rapper Bones giving a eulogy on FUCK the Industry and a guest appearance by Juicy J). "For a second there we thought it would. Therefore we are changing the album to I WANT TO DIE IN NEW ORLEANS."

Across the album's fourteen tracks, $uicideboy$ showcase their trademark sound, which rips and tears with its aggressiveness no matter what genre they tackle. Between thumping kick drums and glitch-trap productions often sit moody synth melodies and washed-out vocals, the duo's vocal and production versatility wrecks havoc on I Want To Die In New Orleans, staying true to the pairing's ethos of creating dynamic and forward-thinking hip-hop that quite often defies genres, but all-around, is targeted to those a little less-of-centre. "We make music for people who don't know who they are, and where they belong," says $lick - one half of the duo. "That's the whole philosophy behind $uicideboy$: nothing is ever permanent - especially life."

While their debut album is much of the same dark and grimy abrasiveness that has been welcomed on their past work, I Want To Die In New Orleans feels more refined and slick in its sound. It's dark and abrasive, bent on this Yung Lean meets Denzel Curry experimentalism, but the themes are more fleshed out and the sounds slightly more approachable - making it the perfect entry point to $uicideboy$ if you're yet to make yourself familiar with the quickly rising duo.

Dive into the record below, and grab tickets to their Australian tour HERE.

Follow $uicideboy$: FACEBOOK