“GOODBYE HORSES” By Ian

Ian, born in 2005, is a teenage rapper and producer who first gained attention online for his experimental SoundCloud tracks blending plugg beats, layered melodies, and introspective lyrics. His 2023 release “GOODBYE HORSES” continues to explore themes of self-doubt, ambition, and youthful excess, showcasing his distinctive production style even as critics question the authenticity of his persona.(Rap)

Ians first big release was really something or it was the worst thing that could have happened to hip-hop. I mean think about it a mixtape with beats that sound like they were made on a budget and lyrics about throwing money around like it is nothing it just does not seem right coming from a kid who is white and was born in 2005. Especially when it looks like Ian has a lot of money to begin with. The whole thing just seems like Ian is trying to be something he's not. Ians music is, like a show and it is hard to take Ian seriously when Ian is rapping about things that Ian probably does not really know about. What is really weird about Ians rise to fame is that he was already making music before everyone knew what he looked like. In 2023 Ians Instagram account was private. You could not tell who he was. His SoundCloud page had a lot of plugg rap music that was very different from what other people were making. The music he recorded by himself and posted online was pretty cool. He would take melodies and mix them with weird sounds. Ians raps were about how great he was but about how bad he felt about himself. His music had a lot of voices and drum beats that sounded like they were recorded in a big empty room. He would also use parts of songs that sounded like they were, from old theaters. Ians music was really something. He was making the music of his life and that is what makes Ians ascent so strange. Sometimes the songwriting was really honest and hurtful. He says "Mama told me that she is proud I still do not think I will be enough”, on the song "Reminder" that iokera produced. He sounds like Izaya Tiji when he is feeling his worst. Ian liked to try things when nobody knew who he was.

In January people started to notice Ian when they heard a bit of his song "Wimbledon". This song was a type of music that people like to listen to when they want to get excited. A lot of people commented on it saying things like "This white boy can rap". Ian liked all the attention he was getting so he kept making music that sounded the same. He did this even though it was not very original. Five months after he released his music called Valedictorian he put out another one called Goodbye Horses. This one was more of the same with music that sounded like it was made by Young Chop and Ian talking like a rapper. The only cool thing, about it was that Chief Keef was featured on one of the songs. It is too bad that Ian did not try to do something different with his music. The music is boring. Feels too formal when it should be exciting. It has melodies and lyrics that do not show how good the artist really is. Except, for an okay parts Goodbye Horses sounds like the music they play in the background of sports video games. These are the kind of songs that make you want to turn off the television.

"Till I Die" is one of the songs from Ian that came out in 2024. These songs are supposed to be really exciting and get stuck in your head like "John" and "Hard, in Da Paint" did when they first came out.. "Till I Die" does not do that. It has a lot of horns and a cheesy keyboard sound that reminds me of the cartoon Regular Show. When ian sings the chorus he sounds really cool and casual. It feels like he is trying too hard. If you are going to talk about money you have to do it in a way like Bossman Dlow does. The same thing happens with "3.5" and "Loco." On the song "Older" he is trying to be like Futures High Off Life with a lot of drama.. He fails right away. He says "Parents getting older/Bigwigs tryna short me/Pass me the doja/I’m tryna be dead by the morning." Let us forget that he uses the word "bigwig" in a song about pain. The thing is, Ians problems do not seem bad as what other artists are going through when they make real emotional songs, like this. Also the doja will not kill you Ian.

Goodbye Horses gets a little better when Ian performs like nobody is watching him. He is dripping with sweat, not tears or cheap champagne. The song "Sh*t Sad" with Chief Keef is pretty cool. Ian sounds really upset on this song. It goes well with the weird beat. This beat would fit in with Almighty So. Goodbye Horses and Ians performance, on "Sh*t Sad" are actually pretty good. Sosa does a cool verse. He sounds like he is not even trying. He has a lot of phlegm in the back of his throat. He says some things that are not meant to be taken seriously. For example Sosa says "If you think I need you girl, you wrong as two shoes".

The music of "My Call" and the title track is pretty slow. Has a lot of electronic sounds. These songs do not really fit in with the songs.. Sosa does a great job, on these songs. They show that Sosa can make music even after he made the album Rodeo. Sosa has a lot of talent for making melodies. This is where Ian sounds the most alive and his written stories feel like things that happened to him the way they did before he was Valedictorian.

This album is like a story, where most of the songs are actually good. The last song Goodbye Horses would be a sad and emotional ending to a story about growing up. It would start with a part sung by Eyesis and end with a lot of flashing synthesizer sounds.. Actually it is just a nice finish, to a bunch of songs that are not that great. The first version of Goodbye Horses came out in 1991. It made Q Lazzarus a famous and respected artist. She emerged faceless; unlike ian, she stayed that way. Goodbye Horses, her only official release, remains a symbol of restraint in the face of teeming adulation. The price of succumbing to commercial expectations is high. Maybe you’re better off letting your work do the talking.

Mason Morgan