If you have been paying attention to this blog for the last year or so, you probably know about my appreciation for 2hi. He has been one of my favorite Milwaukee artists I have been listening to and covering recently. Everything he puts out is so unique and cool, and it always stands out in a huge manner. 2hi is an artist who draws from a wide variety of influences. He has a sound that takes on elements of all sorts of Hip Hop music, and it makes his sound so wide-ranging and distinctive. After gaining traction in underground Hip Hop communities with his 2020 project 2 Birds and his 2021 project, White Lighter Bad Luck, he started to really turn heads in 2022 when he released his acclaimed EP HEY GANG!. 2hi continued this momentum into 2023, releasing many stand-alone singles and multiple projects. Two of 2hi’s projects were among my favorites released by any Milwaukee artist in 2023. His July album Who Cares Who Started It? It’s Music! is a very entertaining collaboration with the producer ThatGuyEli, and his November EP Big Farma is a great collaboration with the producer iBn Farmacia. 2hi closed out 2023 with one more album, OUCH!, which he dropped on December 29. I did not have time to listen to this one when it came out, as I was preoccupied with my end-of-the-year lists at the time. I wanted to come back to OUCH! now, however, and see how 2hi ended his big 2023. That said, here is how I feel about 2hi’s album OUCH!. Please let me know in the comments below what you think of this project, and also comment the names of any other up-and-coming artists I should check out!
2hi gets OUCH! going on a pleasant and upbeat note with the song ‘EXit.’ This song has as warm a feeling as I have ever heard from 2hi to this point. Whereas a lot of his recent music has had a harsher sound, ‘EXit’ has a more pleasant sound. This track is driven by a melody of atmospheric, cozy synths that are saturated and airy. This melody is put on top of a fast-paced Pop-Trap beat that will make anyone who hears it want to dance. 2hi’s delivery on ‘EXit’ is very strong and textured. His zestful vocals stand out and bring a toughness to ‘EXit’ that it benefits from. ‘EXit’ is a fun way to start this project, and it shows a new side to 2hi I appreciate it a ton. ‘24hrs’ is a track with a slightly more abrasive sound than the song that precedes it, but it is still a lot lighter than most of the music 2hi released in 2023 before this point. The melody for this track is strange and trippy, containing an otherworldly sound that makes me think of 1990s video games. This melody is almost like a fever dream; it honestly reminds me of tripping on acid or some other intense psychedelic. The beat for ‘24hrs’ is extremely punchy and pretty rough, giving the song an almost anxious feeling that somehow adds to its psychedelic nature. 2hi’s vocals on this track are pretty low and gruff; his vocals match the intensity of the beat and make ‘24hrs’ hit very hard. ‘24hrs’ is a pretty crazy track that transports my mind into another dimension when it comes on. ‘WORST’ is a song that honestly feels like it has elements of both of the first two tracks on this record. This song has the kind of trippy and atmospheric melody that ‘24hrs’ has, and it has the kind of quick and fun beat that ‘EXit’ has. There are elements to this melody and beat that make it distinctive from the first two tracks, though. Although this melody does have a retro video game sound to it that is similar to the one on ‘24hrs,’ the melody for ‘WORST’ is a lot fresher and more snug than the one on that song. Also, whereas the beat for ‘EXit’ has more of a traditional Pop-Trap feeling to it, this one has an off-kilter tempo that gives it a bit of a HyperPop feeling. Both of these distinctions, along with 2hi’s sing-songy, wispy vocals, make ‘WORST’ a super intriguing track that I dig a lot.
‘this N that’ has a sound that I did not expect to hear next on this record. In fact, this song has a sound that I have never remotely heard at all, so I can not say I would expect to hear it from anyone. The best way I can describe the melody for ‘this N that’ is that it reminds me of bard music. There is a Folk/Americana element to it for sure, but something about this melody’s twinkling, Heavenly sound makes me think of the kind of Harp music one would expect to hear in a meal scene in a movie about medieval royalty or something of the sort. The drums for this track are upbeat and harsh, giving this song a level of force that makes it so interesting. 2hi’s vocals on this track are very thin, matching the weightless feeling of the melody and creating a juxtaposition with the beat. ‘this N that’ is a track with a sound that is extremely quirky but somehow works out well. The Americana component of ‘this N that’ continues into the next track, ‘6 SHOTS.’ There is nothing medieval sounding about this melody, though. 6 SHOTS’ is driven by a Country music guitar riff with a charming, twangy groove. This feels like 2hi’s take on the Country-Trap sound that has become popular over the last couple of years. Even though I am usually not very into that Country Trap sound, 2hi does some things to this sound that make me appreciate it a lot more. For one, the beat for ‘6 SHOTS’ is dynamic and intricate; I especially enjoy how it switches tempos for a bit near the end of the song, as this gives the song life. I also enjoy 2hi’s vocals on this one a lot. His tone and flow fit the feeling of the instrumental so well and make it so much more appealing than other kinds of Country Trap music to me. Although I usually stay away from Country-Trap music, ‘6 SHOTS’ is a song with this sound that I can appreciate a lot. ‘crash DUMMY’ is a song with a way more melancholy feeling than any of the songs before it. Whereas pretty much all of the previous music(besides for maybe ‘24hrs’) have had more of a joyous and more gentle sound, this track feels a lot more heavy and dark. The synths that drive this melody are pretty dreary and melancholy, making the song feel weighty. The beat for this song is off-center, adding to the heaviness of the track. 2hi’s vocal performance is just as pensive as the instrumental, giving this song an overall looming feeling. ‘crash DUMMY’ is a song that sticks out in a major way from the rest of the tracklist, making it pop in a major way.
‘FADE away,’ which features Eli $tones and Tombo, is a song with a sound that fits in very well with a certain style of eccentric Melodic Trap music that has become big over the last couple of years. When I listen to this track, I think of artists like Playboi Carti or Ken Carson. It has the kind of extremely saturated and bright sound that those artists have made very popular recently. ‘FADE away’ does not have the most original-sounding instrumental, but that is okay because it is not the instrumental that makes this song shine. The vocal performances on ‘FADE away’ are all great, with each artist standing out in their own way. I love the different textures that 2hi, Eli $tones, and Tombo all provide on this one, as this makes ‘FADE away’ one of the most exciting tracks on this project. ‘4am,’ which features AyooLii, is easily one of the most intense and interesting songs on this project. Like ‘crash DUMMY,’ this one has a pretty gloomy melody. To be honest, the title of this song fits its sound extremely well, as this melody makes me think of doing nefarious things at 4 in the morning. The beat for ‘4am’ is super quick and hard-hitting; it matches the apprehensive tone of the melody and gives the song a brash nature that provides me with so much energy as a listener. The vocal performances on ‘4am’ are exceptionally vigorous and effective. Both AyooLii and 2hi give this song so much life and add to the overall larger-than-life feeling of the track nicely. 2hi closes out OUCH! on a lighter and more sunny note with the song ‘outchase ME.’ This track is driven by a high-pitched melody that has a very luminous feeling to it. When I hear this melody, it gives the feeling of a balmy, summery day(which is appreciated considering how shitty the weather is in Milwaukee right now). The beat for this track pairs with this brilliant and lighthearted melody well. This instrumental overall has such a jubilant feeling to it. 2hi’s vocals on ‘outchase ME’ are a bit laid-back and reserved, toning down the energy of the song and giving it a bit of a calming element. ‘outchase ME’ is an animated and fun way to end this record, and it definitely closes out OUCH! with a bang.
As I alluded to in the introduction, 2hi has been one of the most riveting and boundary-pushing Hip Hop artists in Milwaukee for the last couple of years. One of the best things about 2hi is you never know what you are going to get from him. He is an artist who sees no limits on the kinds of Hip Hop music he can make, and he is always willing to think outside of the box and try new things. OUCH! Is a project that exemplifies this quality of 2hi perfectly. This project is full of a wide range of very unique instrumentals, showing that 2hi can make music for fans of so many different types of modern Hip Hop music. OUCH! is the latest high-quality release from one of Milwaukee’s most interesting Hip Hop artists, and it makes me pumped to see what 2hi does in 2024.
EAST SIDE VIBES 