Meticulously crafted, the vocal project features production from Wildcard, Iankon, Lukrative, Ginseng, and Vision4k himself, as well as a single guest verse from Fifty Grand.
Vision4k is a fascinating yet elusive figure. Starting out as a producer affiliated with the Hellworld Ajaja collective, he’s crafted songs for artists such as Convolk, David Shawty, Savage Gasp, Ronsocold, Kodie Shane, and more. But as of late, Vision4k has switched his focus, making his vocal presence on tracks more known. The producer-turned-rapper has made steady progression with his sound over the last year, culminating with the release of his debut album Recluse.
Featuring production from Vision4k himself as well as from Wildcard, Iankon, Lukrative, and Ginseng, Recluse is perhaps his most fully-realized project yet. A mixed offering of woeful ballads and indignant raps are paired with beds of sluggish trap drums and menacing synths, the album excels at creating a moody atmosphere.
Not only do the songs’ lyrics reflect his real-life struggles, but Vision4k described the process of creating the album as a struggle in and of itself. “There [were] points where I’d be really sleep deprived, and I had to force myself to eat because I’d be in my room all day trying to get it done,” Vision4k explained. Over the many months spent working on the album, Vision4k said he explored past traumas that had long been suppressed in the back of his mind, and suggested that channeling them into his songwriting has helped those mental wounds to heal.
I’ve been waiting for your love to come down / When the drugs come out I’m a fucking clown / You made a mark into my chest and you tore it out
Stand-out track “Puppet” has Vision4k sing-rapping about a past love turned sour, delivering reflective lyrics tinged with feelings of hurt and regret on a gloomy yet hard-hitting beat by producer Wildcard.
Vision4k was careful not to crowd the project with too many features, opting instead to include just one, a guest verse on “All My Life” from Fifty Grand. The two have great chemistry on the song together, the percolating synths and gritty 808’s forming the perfect dark cloud for the artists to drift over.
You swear you’re not a light / But I’m the one in the dark / All my life, I been taken as a joke / All my life, I’ve been waiting to take the world
“Vision sent me the song and I was particularly interested in working on it because it’s the perfect underdog anthem,” Fifty Grand said. “What artist hasn’t felt under appreciated at some point?” Although the verse from Fifty Grand was short, it still proves itself to be just another piece to the grand puzzle that isRecluse.
Representing a monumental step in Vision4k’s evolution as an artist, Recluse is a project that shouldn’t be overlooked. Stream it below.