Has there ever been a moment in a millennial or Gen Z’s life that has felt more apocalyptic than right now?
Amidst a pandemic, we have a chaotic yet necessary uprising against systemic racism and police brutality. Including each member’s varying perspectives, semi-seasoned supergroup Spillage Village has delivered an ”end of the world” lyrical and tonal gem in “End Of Daze.”
The track features every known member of the crew minus Atlanta crooner 6lack. It starts with a beat dominated by funky percussion slaps and an eerie bass line. The entirety of the contributing vocalists slyly come in on the chorus, beginning with the lyrics, “It’s the end of days, end of times/ My, oh my.” These words, combined with the instrumental sets a tone of Outkast, mixed with Psychedelic Hendrix, and Bootsy Collins.
JID’s second verse proves to be a bit more reflective and philosophical. He raps, “All along the race of life, I took a jog alone.” His independence has caused isolation as well as self-sufficiency, which seems to be a conundrum that has made the circumstance quite cerebral. JID also does some “zombie world” fortune-telling as he raps, “And when the poor people run out of food, they can eat the rich.” He foresees a world where if the apocalypse progresses, the less fortunate will be savvier and survive longer off the sustenance of the less tactical wealthy class. JID seems to deliver this with the tone of a satisfied grin.
Mereba delivers potentially the most potent and direct lyrics of the group with her third verse. She dissects the system and people succinctly as she raps, “Reagan worked for Satan how he preyed upon the meek/ Ask too many questions, do you work for the police?” President Ronald Reagan is mainly responsible for the execution and expansion of “The War on Drugs,” which forced an indiscernible amount of minorities into prison. This act in itself heavily influenced the current state of affairs, which causes the paranoia of the second line. She goes on to talk about her decision to separate herself from the system that doesn’t serve her. Then closes by sending a direct warning as she raps, “Fuck with any kinfolk, you gon’ have to get through we.” Despite their differing outlooks on the situation, Spillage Village are still one team.
Jurdan Bryant, with the fourth verse, takes the alley-oop from Mereba to dunk with further analysis. Bryant tasks himself with the answering of life’s more complicated questions as he raps, “What is bravery? We need better defense, who is my safety?” With an absolute lack of faith in protection from the very people who are paid to do so, Bryant wonders how functionality is even possible. Does being brave involve throwing yourself into the field where you could lose your life from any direction? Bryant goes back and forth with his questions until he finally raps in conclusion, “I need to recoup.” Potentially this separation can be used by him as recovery.
Fifth verse duty falls to Bryant’s brother Hollywood JB. With the last rap verse, he closes with potentially the darkest of points of view. He raps, “Feelin’ like the Lord left the room/ Dead bodies risin’ from the tomb.” The current moment has left him faithless. JB potentially has a double meaning in the second line with zombie imagery, as well as the rise of hopeful empowerment through protest. Like his brother, he toils with his own dilemma lyrically up to a concise conclusion of necessary escape as he raps, “Shit, I need a new planet to fly to.”
After the third iteration of the chorus, the second half of Earthgang Johnny Venus sings us out. He has a simple closing idea as he sings, “Perfection is the goal these days/ But I want something pure/ All that life throws our ways. A love that will endure.” Though life seems to create continually evolving variables and hurdles, Venus suggests love itself may be the only path to peace. He craves the purity of that emotion to cope with the rotating dysfunction around him. While love itself has its own complexity, it is always clear at the end of the day that the work is worth the feeling.
Spillage Village proves through their single that each perspective combined could be the path to a sort of enlightenment. So first and foremost, we must listen.
