It wouldn't be the Halloween season if we didn't get new music from the bugged-out underground rap expressionist Fatboi Sharif. Sharif came from the wilds of New Jersey with a truly singular sound, and he was a Stereogum Artist To Watch in 2021. Last year, Sharif released Brain Candy, a collaborative album with Fat Tony and Steel Tipped Dove. Today, he has once again joined forces with longtime producer Roper Williams for a new album with a truly great title: Goth Girl On The Enterprise.
Even by Fatboi Sharif's standards, Goth Girl On The Enterprise is a weird, experimental record. Roper Williams' production leans into glitchy, distorted drone-blurts, and Sharif's scattered, haphazard vocals don't always fall into the kinds of patterns that most of us think of when we think of rapping. It's more like he's doing zooted-out spoken word, sometimes in a sinister whisper and sometimes in a mock-terrified falsetto. It's pretentious as hell, but I still find myself compelled. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's a vibe. Listen below.
Goth Girl On The Enterprise is out now on my man Jeff Weiss' POW Recordings.
