As the Milwaukee Hip Hop scene continues to grow and thrive, more and more people are associating the city with the Slap music sound that has been sweeping the nation due to the efforts of people like J.P., 414bigfrank, and Myaap. Do not get me wrong, I love this sound and love that so many people are resonating with it, but the Hip Hop scene here goes so much further beyond it. There are many Hip Hop artists here who do not focus on that sound that I feel deserves just as much love and notoriety. A Milwaukee Hip Hop artist who I have dug for a while and who carves his own lane is 2hi. He has been growing and progressing for a while and seems to get better and better with each release. 2hi first started to gain some traction in 2020 with the release of his record 2 Birds. He followed this up with his 2021 album White Lighter Bad Luck, which caught the attention of some underground Hip Hop communities and planted the seeds for what was to come. In 2022, He dropped his EP HEY GANG!, which further pushed his momentum as one to watch. 2hi was very prolific with his output in 2023, dropping multiple stand-alone singles as well as three projects, titled Who Cares Who Started It? It’s Music, BIG FARMA(a collaborative EP with the producer iBn Farmacia), and OUCH!. Due to all of these releases, 2hi was one of my favorite Milwaukee-based artists to put out music in 2023, and they had me pretty excited to see what he did next. 2hi has stayed relatively quiet in 2024, though. Up until a couple of weeks ago, he had only put out 4 singles this year(two of which are on his new album.). Recently, though, 2hi dropped a new album, titled EVERYTHING HURTS. Below, I wanted to give my thoughts on this new album from 2hi. Please let me know in the comments how you feel about 2hi’s EVERYTHING HURTS, and also comment the names of some other local or independent artists you think I should check out!
One thing I will say about 2hi to start is you never know what you are going to get with him. The album starts out on a pretty vibrant note ‘SHOOTOUT.’ Frankly, this song has a sound that is unlike anything I have heard from him before. This instrumental almost makes me think of the Rock-tinted R&B Trap music from Don Toliver’s album HARDSTONE PSYCHO. ‘SHOOTOUT’ is driven by a gritty guitar riff with a blazing but also pretty harsh tone. The guitar riff is complemented by some shimmering synths that lighten it up a bit but do not take away from the song’s harshness too much. The beat for this track is big and bold, more than matching the energy of the instrumental. 2hi raps with a pretty even-keeled and laid-back tone and flow on this track. I like how the calmness of his delivery contrasts with the power of the instrumental, as it really stands out. ‘SHOOTOUT’ is a big and bold way to begin this record which I dig a lot. ‘TWO AM’ keeps the R&B Trap tone of the last track and lightens this up a bit. Do not get me wrong, this instrumental is still pretty gritty and tough. It is not nearly as audacious as the first track, though. The melody for ‘TWO AM’ is fairly simple. This song is driven by some saturated synths with a somewhat sheeny but also a sort of dark tone. This melody is put on top of a sludgy, hard-hitting Trap beat. The beat goes very nicely with the melody, as it keeps up the song’s pushiness without taking away from its somewhat inviting tone. Speaking of inviting, 2hi’s vocals on this track are very enjoyable as well. He sing-raps with a tone and flow that matches the inviting tone of the instrumental and makes this song feel hypnotic in a way. ‘TWO AM’ is a cool track that toes the line between bold and laid-back nicely. ‘MS. JACKSON’ has an even more laid-back sound than the song that precedes it. This one is a lot lighter than the first two tracks on the record. The melody for this track has a charming and breezy tone that makes me feel like I am floating when I listen to it. There is also something about it that is a bit foreboding, though. The tone of the piano riff that drives this melody is a bit off-tune and off-kilter, almost making it feel a bit despondent. Somehow, the melody for ‘MS. JACKSON’ is welcoming and grating at the same time. The beat for this song is pretty standard and easy-going. It does have a bit of a faster tempo than what we got on the first two tracks, giving ‘MS. JACKSON’ slightly more energy. 2hi’s vocals on this song are very low and laid-back. He sing-raps with a tone that is mesmerizing, and it makes this song feel pretty full. ‘MS JACKSON’ is not as big as the first two tracks, but it still stands out in its own right. The large and intense feeling we got on the opener certainly comes back on ‘FADED.’ This song has an ultra-modern sound that seems like it came out of some dystopian future. When I hear this one, I think of the music from artists like Ken Carson or Destroy Lonely. The melody is highly saturated and distorted. Although it actually has a pretty sweet and light tone, it feels incredibly big and heavy due to the harshness of the mix. This melody is driven by a guitar riff that sits in the back and is complemented by shimmering synths that make it feel super huge. The beat for this track hits hard as hell as well, more than matching the energy of the melody. 2hi’s vocals on this ‘FADED’ are pretty light and raspy, contrasting the feeling of the instrumental. This gives the song a juxtaposition that really makes it pop. ‘FADED’ is a high-key banger where 2hi shows he can make an ultramodern Trap that fits in with some of the more eccentric mainstream artists right now.
2hi brings back the intense and bold Metal-tinted Trap sound that we got on the first track with ‘YOU MUST ME A RAPPER.’ This one is even bigger and harsher than the opener. The guitar riff that drives this melody sounds like it came right from some 1980s Metal band. This melody is mean, tough, melancholy, and gritty. I really like the moments where the melody speeds up and gains intricacy, as it gives the song an anxious, larger-than-life feeling that truly stands out. The beat for this track is huge as well. This beat pounds in a way that more than matches the feeling of the melody. 2hi’s vocals, however, are a bit low, laid-back, and gritty. His vocals contrast the melody in a way that somehow makes the song feel even more daunting. The difference in his vocals and the feeling of the instrumental creates a feeling of creepiness that I dig a lot. ‘YOU MUST BE A RAPPER’ is a huge track that is perfect for any workout playlist, as it infuses me with life when I hear it. ‘SHE TOOK MY HEART’ has a slightly lighter and more floating feeling than the last track. This song feels a bit more like some of the music I have heard from 2hi in the past; it feels like he went back to his roots a bit with this one. ‘SHE TOOK MY HEART’ has an Atmospheric Trap sound that is pretty welcoming and sweet. Compared to the first five songs, this one feels quite a bit lighter and more Poppy. 2hi’s rap performance on this track is actually pretty pushy and in-your-face, which contrasts the lighter nature of the instrumental a bit. This makes his vocals really pop. ‘SHE TOOK MY HEART’ is a moment that softens up the project a little bit, and this is much appreciated. ‘NOISE’ is another track with a calmer feeling than the first five songs of the record. The melody for this track is very trippy and atmospheric. This melody has a shimmering, almost ethereal nature to it that sounds like it came out of a different dimension. The beat on this track is pretty steady and laid-back, and the way that it pairs with the instrumental makes this song feel super smooth. 2hi raps with a pretty laid-back and monotonous tone and flow on ‘NOISE,’ which really adds to the silky feeling of this track. ‘NOISE’ is another moment where 2hi takes a step back and goes with something a bit more relaxed. The intensity that we got earlier in the record comes back in a big way on ‘THAT AIN’T COKE’ with Keyba. This song has a very foreboding feeling to it. The melody for this track is provided by a very anxious piano riff that is pretty distorted. This piano riff has a tone that reminds me of the music that plays when something very ominous is happening in a haunting type of movie. The beat of this track is big and harsh, matching the energy of the melody so well. 2hi does his thing on ‘THAT AIN’T COKE,’ but I especially have to acknowledge Keyba. Their off-kilter flow and high pitch give this song a texture that is super interesting. ‘THAT AIN’T COKE’ is a large and mean Trap track with some cool vocal performances that make it extra enthralling.
‘ABC’s’ with 30 $ales has a pretty similar dystopian track to the song that precedes it. In fact, this one almost feels like a faster, meaner, and weirder version of ‘THAT AINT COKE.’ The melody for this track is very glitchy and robotic. It almost has an unsettling tone to it, which is also what makes it enthralling. The beat on ‘ABC’s’ is off-kilter, quick, and hard-hitting. It sticks out for how convoluted and brash it is. 2hi and 30 $ales rap with a tone and flow contrast each other and create even weirder textures in this already wild song. ‘ABC’s’ is an otherworldly banger that feels larger than life. ‘REJECTS,’ which gets production from 2hi’s frequent collaborator ThatGuyElireturns to the Metal-infused sound R&B Trap we were getting earlier on the record. The synths that drive this track, which sort of sound like a highly saturated guitar riff, have such a despondent and negative tone. The way that this melody hits makes the song feel so negative and huge. That energy is certainly matched by the beat on this track. ‘REJECTS’ has a huge, crashing Trap beat with a good amount of distortion which makes it feel super weighty and harsh. 2hi’s vocals on ‘REJECTS’ are actually pretty laid-back and feathery, contrasting the feeling of the instrumental. This, weirdly, makes the track feel even bigger. ‘REJECTS’ is a Heavy Metal Trap track with a commanding sound that makes me want to rage and party. ‘BANK VAULT’ is probably the sweetest and softest song on the record. This song has a true R&B Pop-Trap feeling to it. The melody, which is provided by a variety of twinkling synths and a groovy keyboard riff, has a soothing quality to it that I enjoy a lot. The tone of the melody makes me want to go on a blunt cruise late on a summer night with the homies, as it is so ethereal and floaty. The beat on this track is pretty laid-back as well. This beat does a nice job of carrying the song forward and not taking away from the atmospheric feeling of the track. 2hi’s vocals on ‘BANK VAULT’ fit its energy perfectly. He sing-raps with this very steady and positive flow and tone that leans into the energy of the instrumental perfectly. On ‘BANK VAULT,’ 2hi takes a step back and gives us a perfect smoking track, which I appreciate. 2hi closes out the project with ‘FEEL GOOD,’ which takes elements from the harsher and lighter songs on this record and combines them in a cool manner. The tone of the melody for this track is pretty bright and pleasant. The synths that drive this one have a pretty positive quality that almost feels uplifting. The beat and overall mix of this track are pretty huge and grating, though. This track is riddled with strange sound effects that give the song a level of anxiety that protrudes. The beat on this track is pretty tough and huge, matching the energy of the weird sound effects all over the track more than the actual feeling of the melody. 2hi’s vocal performance somehow matches the energy of the melody and the energy of the beat. His tone is pretty soothing and goes nicely with the melody, but his flow is frantic and leans more into the feeling of the beat. Overall, ‘FEEL GOOD’ is a massive track that makes me feel good but also has an intrepid element, and it sends the project out with a boom.
As I stated in the intro, 2hi is an artist with a sound and style that truly sets himself apart from his peers. There is no one in the Milwaukee Hip Hop scene like him; you would even be hard-pressed to find artists from anywhere that compare to 2hi. On his EVERYTHING HURTS, we see 2hi expand his horizons more than ever. One of my favorite things about 2hi is that you never know what you are going to get and that he is always expanding his sound and thinking outside the box, and this is more evident than ever on EVERYTHING HURTS. On EVERYTHING HURTS, he explores a variety of sounds and styles. There are moments where he goes with a heavier and jarring sound than we have heard from him yet, and there are moments where he calms things down and goes with a lighter style of music than he usually goes for. Even though these instrumentals vary, the album still flows very well and no song sounds out of place. 2hi does a great job from track to track changing up his vocal style to match the energy of the instrumental. Nothing on this project sounds typical or boring, and it always keeps the listener on their toes. Overall, EVERYTHING HURTS is yet another moment where 2hi shows he is one of the most exciting rappers in Milwaukee right now, and it makes me excited to see him continue to grow and thrive.
EAST SIDE VIBES 