AM 2:22 lasts just under eight minutes, and that brief time is all you really need to get a good sense of what rapper Gokou Kuyt is all about. More concise than last year’s #teendreamtape, his latest feels like a late night dispatch, short and at times fluttery beats giving enough space for Kuyt’s monotone to spread out. The intensity and drama found in an artist like Sleet Mage’s music is swapped out for a more reflective isolation, even if it’s more of an exercise in how words sound than what they mean (see “Twenty Water Bed”). It can get a bit more energetic, as on “Asani Neru,” but even that one finds Kuyt sounding head down. Rounding out is Kuyt’s take on “Iffy,” which approaches being straight cover at times but takes on a new character thanks to a huskier delivery. Listen above.
