Supa – Weird Is the New Cool (2012) [Self-Released] // Grade: B

When I first heard Matt “Supa” Solley from Sortahuman it was on SpaceGhostPurrp’s epic “Stonergang Raiders ” posse cut. Supa’s very first line on that song struck me right away: “Computer tells me lies and the skies tell me future!” That is such a bizarre, unique thing to say (especially as your opening line ) it instantly got me interested in Sortahuman, the Alabama based three man crew which Supa was part of. Sortahuman had a busy 2011 dropping two LPs (Lysergic Bliss and Stonergang) along with a collaborative effort with Party Trash called Lost Planet and even appearing prominently on our own Murdered In Memphis by Nattymari. And while that might be enough output in short succession to prompt most artists to take a break, earlier this month Supa released his first solo album, Weird Is the New Cool. I’ve always been wary when someone calls himself “weird,” but I think Supa’s got it right. This album isn’t incredibly “out there,” but it is just different enough to be something new and definitely “cool.”

Let me clarify a bit on what I meant by Weird Is The New Cool isn’t completely “out there.” As a whole it’s pretty easily identifiable as southern rap. Supa’s flow, his attitude, and the beats are all similar to other southern stuff we’ve all heard, but his approach and topics are distinctlydifferent. The beat on Weird’s first track “Yes” has the heart of a typical southern beat but it’s almost as if producer, Blown injected your typical hard drum beat with a bunch of clouds and psychedelic fog. “Yes” is also a good example of Supa’s unique lyrics: “I stare a polar bear down without even flinching” that’s both a kind of funny line and it’s Supa legitimately asserting that he’s hard. The image of Supa actually staring a polar bear down somewhere floating on ice in the antarctic is amazing. “Yes” is a good set up to get you into the albums headspace as the rest of the production follows it’s precedent as the mind of southern hip hop high on some psychedelics and not giving a fuck.

Title-track, “Weird Is the New Cool” is definitely a standout on the album. Dizzy D’s beat is this bouncy space full of laser noises that is like Hunstville Hyphy or something. Supa also says “Watching David Lynch flicks with your girl on my cock” which is just plain awesome. Lynch comes up again on “KoolAid” (my second favorite track) where he says “watching twin peaks in the studio.” Besides mentioning Twin Peaks, Supa tells an excellent story about going to Whole Foods high to try to hit on the manager because “She got big tits.” It’s a pretty damn funny track and also really effective, simple rap storytelling in Supa’s own unique and “weird” way.

My one grievence with album is “Shit City”  featuring New Haven, CT’s Left Leberra (which was also on Left’s Buble Quiet Dos Mil mixtape). I like that track except for Supa delivering what I feel is his weakest line of the whole album, “Does anybody wanna hear a rapper that is white?” A weird line to me because it is the first time I’ve heard Supa be self-conscious and the one moment on the album where Supa questions who he is. Sure it’s one line, not a big deal but it in away undermines the identity he’s spent the rest of the album building. That line on “Shit City” aside, Weird Is the New Cool is a fine statement of a young, hungry and skilled rapper who isn’t afraid to be himself regardless of how “weird” or different it may be.

- Nick Vogt