Grim Singmuf, the artist raised in Fairmount Projects in Woonsocket, R.I. now residing in Mount Shasta, CA, is also part of a collective called Cesspool Asylum, for which he is a producer as well as recording artist. “Who am I?” is his first EP with this collective. This album was written and produced by Grim Singmuf in Mount Shasta California’s Cesspool Asylum. It features Canna CDK of Earworm ENT. on 2 tracks – “PNEB” & “Not Like You”. These 2 tracks were released as singles each with 3 completely different remixes. Also appearing on these tracks is Mystah Spaulding the founder of Cesspool Asylum artist collective.
“Who am I?” is a particularly cohesive album helped in large part by the exceptional building on the foundation of the hardcore lyrics and versatile delivery. The Cesspool Asylum sound is large and infectious with eye-popping tracks with help from collaborators like the Collie Reeka on “Old Souls”, Canna CDK & Mystah Spaulding on “PNEB” and “Not Like You”.
The EP feels uniquely raw; you can feel it in your skin and in your bones. Even for those new to Cesspool Asylum, the album will have the power to recharge your love for underground, coast to coast hip-hop. Unlike many collectives, this group does not struggle to keep themselves relevant, and it shows here on their latest testament to their incredible dedication to the craft.
Their combined love of weed, free thinking, bass bumping, and being hip-hop junkies comes through these psychedelically induced tracks. Grim Singmuf brings depth and lyrical abilities to the formula of the collective. Therefore this EP has lots of flavor throughout. Grim and Cesspool Asylum crew remind us that music has an obligation to talk about the times we live in.
Musicians are our modern-day scribes, our poets, detailing the world as they see it for future generations to come to understand their ancestors. This album challenges us to think about where we are, and what we are leaving behind. And if this is any indication, we are indeed in need of change in a bad way.
If a preliminary listen to tracks like, “Just Like You”, “Count Your Blessings” and the title track, “Who Am I”, may lead you to believe Cesspool Asylum are your freedom-chasing, anti-mainstream musicians who perform to their own tunes, and shirk the endless shackles of the industry to follow their own destiny. You may just be right.
This free-spirited attitude is confirmed on “IDKWYBT” and “I Do This All The Time”. And then fully explained on the interview with Jer from Sleeping Bag Studios in Canada, which was set to instrumentation produced by Grim Singmuf.
The album has a raw, slightly unhinged feel to it. Some artists attempt to fuse musical styles together, and fail miserably. It quickly becomes apparent that Grim Singmuf is versatile, able to flow from one sound to another seamlessly and perfectly. His style of hip-hop and rap has no boundaries.
And this, more than anything else, is what Grim brings to Cesspool Asylum. “Who am I?” is what happens when you give a mic and production duties to a poet with a universal vision and a sweeping talent.
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