The St. Paul rapper’s sophomore album showcases a range of emotions as he uses precise lyricism and experimental beats to explore the inner workings of his own mind.
Though Lerado Khalil is still bubbling under the surface, he first started seeing underground success with standouts like “360!” and “Wine Tears.” These tracks bolstered his popularity through candid takes on paranoia and relationship struggles. But instead of using a wide range of vocals, his voice is coarse and empty, piquing listeners’ interest through the odd, yet intriguing juxtaposition of honesty and desolation.
Lerado’s debut album Shark Fin Soup puts these traits on a pedestal with muddy bass drums and violently fearless verses. Detailing the days that came before his music, Lerado painted a grim picture of poverty in which he had to take what he could get out of necessity. With Mildly Happy, Lerado bares hidden emotions as he gets more experimental with beat selection.
The first track, “Back and Fourth,” features Lerado’s down-pitched singing, as he chants, “Out of body, out of mind, too far gone then change your mind…it still haunts me all the time.” The untraditional beat leaves the listener on edge, waiting for what happens next, wondering what it is that has Lerado vexed in a half-lucid state. Quickly dropping the slowed singing, Lerado snaps back to reality, and the production molds accordingly to him as the flow picks up. Though the first verse is short in length, Lerado manages to let loose a torrent of issues that have been plaguing him, catching the audience up on his life in the shortest possible time frame.
With lines like, “Look at my face, I barely get sleep / Mama like, ‘Eat son, you look dead’/ It’s like constant tweakin’ in my head / Fuck, too many weeks in my bed / aye, gotta keep shit going,” the listener becomes a fly on the wall as Lerado’s loved ones try to pry him from the hands of self-destruction. Zombie-like and without the strength to change, his description of his appearance shows him at his worst. The second hook depicts a dejected Lerado recording for catharsis’ sake; all he can do is, “Mumble back and forth” because “I can’t hold it in.” As the bundled-up truths inside these verses begin to spill out, great pressure is relieved.
“Bro Nem” marks a new percussion style. The ominous hand drums make the track feel like an empowering war song. The highlight of the track is on verse two, where Lerado catches a threatening groove, beginning and ending every line on a rhyme. Laughing at his opponents who have failed to catch up to him, he raps, “Bro’nem, sittin’ at the bottom of the totem / Loafin’, worry about a n*gga, I’m coasting.” Lerado provides mean-spirited bars for lazy rivals who envy his lifestyle. The rapper puts his wordplay on display by using poker-themed bars to compare anyone who steps to him to literal shit, saying, “Playing wit’ a full house, I’m winnin’/ See who getting flushed out, my liver.”
Another exceptional track, “Split,” returns to Lerado’s roots with caustic, metallic guitar production. Less than a minute long, Lerado doesn’t let up for the entire duration. Not known for his pacifism, Lerado is ready and eager to resolve potential issues through violence, with playful bars like, “Said he wants beef, mmm tasty.” Lerado references the title by describing how “Time take toll, watch your old bonds breaking,” as splits come with time in all relationships whether they be romantic or friendly
From the dual meaning of the title to Lerado’s veiled vocals tucked neatly into the inundating production, the most outwardly emotional track comes with the cryptic “Btrwu.” The production is soft, with a singing synthesizer reminiscent of old Pokemon games and a punchy kick keeping the track in place. “Btrwu” is an internal back and forth as Lerado struggles with how he feels about the woman he mentions in the lyrics. Switching between missing her and being better off without her, it’s easy to see why he left the title open to interpretation, as it changes along with his feelings. By the end of the track, it remains unclear how he feels about his partner.
The lighthearted piano on “November” signals a reprieve from Lerado’s mental issues. Rapping about his inability to learn from his mistakes, he refrains from numbing through drugs. Remarks like, “I can never get shit right… it’s like every time I wanna have fun, good times, they never come,” show his ability to roll with the punches in a way that makes his misery feel both accepted and expected. The end of the track gets interesting as Lerado’s vocals pitch up and the tempo builds. Tension is built, but before it explodes, the pitch dips even lower than before, allowing matters to simmer back to square one.
“I’m OK” is as much of a note to Lerado himself as much as it is a song for listeners. Returning to his usual tone, he uses the track as an opportunity to reaffirm that despite all his troubles and emotional woes, he is okay. Actively working on bettering himself and trying to stay in a positive mental space proves to be no easy task for Lerado, despite his naturally confident delivery over the beat. Lines like “Life is a bitch and it don’t like quitters” make the track feel like less of a Lerado song and more like an R rated fortune cookie. Lerado seems to be talking himself out of suicide, as he knows he won’t feel any reward from it. Despite his pep talks, it is clear that he is still stuck in a negative cycle, finding himself looking forward to the mundane in life like good weather. Lerado is used to things going south for him, so he stays checking the calendar, waiting for the next tragedy to befall him.
Lerado’s Mildly Happy gives the listener an idea of what it can be like to be on the bright side of life one minute and then slip back into depression the next. It portrays someone who is perceived in a way that doesn’t always reflect their inner dialogue. Accordingly, the album swings back and forth in sync with Lerado’s moods, making it a dark, thrilling roller coaster.