ZelooperZ - Van Gogh’s Left Ear Music Album Reviews

ZelooperZ - Van Gogh’s Left Ear Music Album Reviews
The Detroit rapper pays tribute to Van Gogh’s most infamous moment, extending his own recent prolific streak with a chaotic, creative album that switches styles like outfits.

On December 23, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh, deep in the throes of psychosis, cut off his left ear and gifted it to a woman working at a nearby brothel. His friend, the artist Paul Gauguin, who had spent the previous nine weeks living and quarreling with him, painting and debating the nature of art, had seen enough, and left the yellow house in Arles, France they had shared. Within two years, Van Gogh would be dead by his own hand. This is the man—and the moment—around which Detroit MC ZelooperZ’s latest album is built.

But Van Gogh’s Left Ear captures more than just a tribute from a young artist to the Dutch master (ZelooperZ painted the cover’s homage to two of Van Gogh’s most famous works). During the 63 days Van Gogh and Gauguin spent together in the yellow house, the former created some of his most vivid and introspective works, while the latter witnessed his friend’s descent into madness. The historical events offer a spiritual precedent for the chaotic creative energy that permeates Van Gogh’s Left Ear, as ZelooperZ flits from track to track with boundless verve, exploring the limits of his own abilities.

Truly fearless rappers often embrace multiple styles, adopting the flow du jour just to prove that they can—think of Jay Electronica’s nimble triplets on the “We Made It” remix at the height of Migos-mania, or the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Notorious Thugs.” ZelooperZ draws from slightly different influences; throughout the LP you can hear echos of Young Thug’s warped falsetto (“Hostile”), Polo G’s emotive croon (“Bluez”), or even Flint’s funniest postman Bfb Da Packman (“VanGogh’sLeftEar”). And it’s plain to see on “Bash Bandicoon” just how well he vibes with Danny Brown’s goofball gangster energy; as absurd as the Crash Bandicoot-sampling beat is, it’s clear they’re having fun.

The production on Van Gogh’s Left Ear is just as varied and hectic; the tracklist shifts from Detroit gutter bop (“Battery”) to Japanese video game (“Bash Bandicoon”) to Buffalo mafioso movie (“BadMan”) with minimal transition. But ZelooperZ manages to tie it all together, his oddball charisma shining through no matter what the beat sounds like. It’s a rare rapper who can make myriad styles and sounds feel definitively their own.

Even in his earliest work, which seemed somewhat derivative of Brown’s style, ZelooperZ’s hyperactive, unpredictable personality stood out. And while he—along with the rest of the Bruiser Brigade—spent much of the early ’10s in their leader’s shadow, ZelooperZ has been on a prolific run lately. He released two LPs in 2019, Wild Card and Dyn-o-Mite, and in 2020, he released three: Gremlin, Moszel Offline, and Valley of Life, each better than the last. Though it would be a stretch to call Van Gogh’s Left Ear cohesive, it’s likely his strongest album to date. With each release he’s barreled forward full force, an artist possessed by the energy that drives him to create in the first place.
Share on Google Plus

About Wanni Arachchige Udara Madusanka Perera

Hey, I'm Perera! I will try to give you technology reviews(mobile,gadgets,smart watch & other technology things), Automobiles, News and entertainment for built up your knowledge.
ZelooperZ - Van Gogh’s Left Ear Music Album Reviews ZelooperZ - Van Gogh’s Left Ear Music Album Reviews Reviewed by Wanni Arachchige Udara Madusanka Perera on August 03, 2021 Rating: 5

0 comments:

Post a Comment