safe sin’s latest EP PAINFUL is short, and it serves to benefit from that decision immensely. Composed of just three tracks and clocking in at roughly seven minutes, PAINFUL is not a full length album by any means. Instead, the project finds the Virginian artist playing to his strengths and making deep cuts filled with quick flows and witty one liners. They’re a collection of tracks that all play into each other with ease, mostly due to safe sin’s ability to flow smoothly on beats without letting either his vocals or the production overwhelm each other.
With just one glance at the short tracklist, it becomes clear that safe sin’s intention with PAINFUL was to create a unified and cohesive project. The EP has only features Icy Black on the second track “Stupified”. Furthermore, production remains consistent, with two of the three tracks being produced by deliverthecrush, with the exception of one co-production between Tracstar and Brandon Finnesin.
“Sludge”, the first track on the project, jumps right into the major themes that sin continues to mention throughout PAINFUL. Wasting no time, safe sin sings about past relationships gone awry, and his battle with drugs as a remedy to his problems. He reminisces on his humble beginnings with lines like “Born from the sludge, endorsin’ on a real one. If you feel my pain, then come and get your axe up.” While the beat is hypnotic and intoxicating, the energy of the track comes from safe sin’s vocals which glide through the production with ease.
“Stupified” is easily the biggest standout, with its infectious hook and catchy melodies. More than that, the lyrics are genuinely just enticing, as safe sin switches from the comedic with bars like “Off the percie I’ll be feelin’ like I’m Bobby bitch”, to straight up laughable such as, “E-boy killer, run your IP.” The track is also the only one on the project with a feature, and Icy Black’s slow melody based vocals provide a welcome contrast to safe sin’s higher intensity on the track.
“Bad Guy”, the closer to PAINFUL stands out if for one reason only: safe sin’s lyrical prowess throughout the track. With no real verse, the track essentially a repeat of a pre-chorus and a chorus. It seems like an unlikely contender to be the most lyrically dense part of PAINFUL, yet somehow safe sin makes it happen.
After all of the funny lines that listeners were just bombarded with on “Stupified,” “Bad Guy” changes directions completely. The result is the most emotionally impactful track on the album, and one that works in complete harmony with the title of the project. Looking back on his actions, safe sin ruthlessly and coldly sings “Hello, hi. I’m Mr. Bad Guy. Don’t give no fuck about your problems or your dreams, so take it to the next guy”, to wrap up a sonically rich project.
safe sin shared that PAINFUL is “the songs that didn’t make it on my tape.” If these are safe sin’s throwaways, one can only imagine how great the full project will be. In the meantime, stream the EP down below: