Last Updated on June 5, 2024, 9:18 PM | Published: June 4, 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY — Huckwheat wastes absolutely no time on his new EP “Me & My Study,” kicking in the door and blasting rhymes all at once within the first opening seconds of the recent release, no intro or preamble necessary.
It’s a fitting, fitful opening for a record – and a rapper – so clearly grappling with the time that it takes to be a man and the time that needs to be taken to get a life in order.
Those questions of responsibility and expectation loom large across the release’s seven tracks, with Huckwheat navigating a near-constant stream of double meanings and contradictions in an attempt to finally locate the middle ground between pushing forward and just being present.
Just like the image of a man alone in his study, the overriding theme here is one of introspection, sitting alone and reevaluating motives and missions. It’s about working to become more comfortable with life, not as you’d like it to be, but just as it is.
Of course, that doesn’t mean for a second that the whole record is quiet or calm.
Huck still believes in the fight, and he comes out swinging handily at enemies and systems alike on tracks like “Need a Second” and “Algorithm.” But he’s trying to be comfortable with the fighting and more embracing of the bad blood and grudges that we sometimes need to drive us forward.
He just wants to make sure that he’s fighting for the right things.
“Writing these tracks, I’ve been in the mindset of not allowing myself to give myself excuses, and pushing myself in all areas and aspects of my life,” Huckwheat told me about the themes and concepts at the heart of the new release. “Whether it’s as a father, as a husband, as an artist, or even simply as a man. I found myself realizing how hungry I still am for life and what I can make of it.”
He’s not just sitting quietly in his study on these tracks, then. He’s not relaxing and toasting to any victory by the fireplace. He’s studying. He’s learning about what he wants to be, about how to be better, and about what obstacles and enemies still stand in his way.
“I’ve been really in tune with trying to share that same energy with the people I love and wanting to see them succeed as well,” he told me. “I pretty much say that all those circumstances may not always be in your favor, but it is still within your grasp and responsibility to change that.”
The title “Me & My Study” and the candid, half-smiling cover photo could give you the impression that this is meant to be a relaxed, homey collection of personal pieces, but the truth, again, is in that middle ground.
On “The Belt,” he’s definitely confident in being present and coolheaded as a father despite a lifelong history of working too hard and pushing his own limits too far. But on “Need a Second,” he’s just as confident in his ability to still “put a foot up on their neck” anytime his naysayers cross him or call him out.
And the fact that he does both over complementary gospel-tinged backing tracks is a whole different kind of confidence that’s equally on display throughout.
The EP’s production – split, Huck tells me, between himself and producer duo Wronghouse – is a crash course in stylistic shifts. Though the record opens and closes with tracks centered on harder-hitting drum-and-bass, the pieces in between morph from church organs to electro-pop to the 90s-style chopped jazz-funk of A Tribe Called Quest.
The best and most effective musical moment undoubtedly comes in the form of centerpiece “Deep End,” a manifesto of making peace with the struggle laid on top of nothing more than densely layered vocal loops and a single, glitchy, lo-fi beat.
The track’s minimalism makes it sound huge, a perfect encapsulation of that middle ground, placed right at the balanced center of the record.
Like his Sativa Prophets bandmates Mars Deli, Caj, and Rodrick Malone, Huckwheat has been taking his recent solo outings as opportunities to explore his own unique influences and styles.
While his friends have been confronting the past in breakups and deaths, Huck is looking at the future, studying for the tests, and embracing whatever battles are to come, because building your legacy means always defending your legacy.
“Ain’t no passing the torch without having a torch,” he raps on “Crockpot Jazz.”
Huckwheat knows that the prize isn’t a ticket out and a place to rest. The prize is just the confidence and the self-assurance of knowing that you won’t stop, you won’t quit breathing, no matter who has their foot on your neck.
“Me & My Study” by Huckwheat is available on all streaming services now.
Follow Huckwheat online on his official site at huckwheat.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/huckwheat, and on Instagram at @huckwheat.
You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.