Last Updated on September 13, 2022, 8:37 PM | Published: September 13, 2022
You’ve seen it a hundred times: artist gets dumped, artist turns to songwriting to deal with the pain, artist releases their “breakup album,” pouring all the tricky thoughts and complex feelings into every track. Sinatra created it with “In the Wee Small Hours.” Dylan followed suit with “Blood on the Tracks.” Kanye even used his entry to re-imagine the entire hip-hop genre (for better or worse) with “808s and Heartbreak.”
But it’s possible that no one has ever dropped a full concept record about what actually happens after a breakup.
I don’t mean the emotional journey, the creeping resignation, or the slow evolution toward acceptance and individuality on the other side. I mean drinking way too much, going to the club with your friends, and getting into all kinds of questionable trouble to take your mind off the pain.
Bob Dylan never made an album about that.
Luckily, OKC rapper and producer Mars Deli – one quarter of hip-hop experimenters extraordinaire Sativa Prophets – is here to finally give the world the brutally honest, unapologetically vulgar breakup album the world deserves.
“I had a really bad, really public breakup,” Mars told me. “I knew I needed to turn that into something, but I didn’t want to just make an album about my relationship. So I had this idea and I started bringing in a ton of people, bringing in other artists and other producers and even former dancers and asking them ‘what would you want to dance to when you’re on stage in the club?’”
The result is “Pink Palace,” the long-awaited solo excursion from Mars Deli and its live premiere as part of the upcoming return of Sativa Prophets’ Pajama Jammy Jam, a collaborative blowout concert/party series that’s lain dormant since 2019.
Now, when I say this album is raunchy, don’t underestimate it. “Pink Palace” is not for the conservative or the faint of heart. But why should it be? It’s an adventure into the heavily inebriated mind of a sad, possibly angry young man, alternating between graphic, masculine posturing and depressive bouts of worthlessness, handing over control (and money) to people that are paid to pay him attention.
If Mars himself is represented in the narrative’s main character, he isn’t cutting himself any slack. Though many of the tracks, especially in the album’s first half, come across as grimy, infectious club bangers full of machismo and flaunting attitude, there’s always an air floating above it that it’s all for show, all meant as a deflection and a distraction.
When things finally slow down and head for the “champagne room” at the back of the club in the album’s final third, those walls come down.
Gone are the heavy beats and non-stop party antics, replaced with surprisingly soulful R&B guitars and pensive piano. The back room is safe enough for our protagonist to get honest about what he wants, but true to character, he’s entitled and impulsive and is probably flat-out lying to himself.
When the lead vocal is taken away from him and given to the woman in front of him, she drops “you’ve been coming every weekend, you’ve been chilling in the deep end.” It’s a pointed, appropriate accusation aimed squarely at the kind of guy that would pay for attention rather than address his own pain or problems.
I won’t spoil the ending, but a glance at the track list shows that things likely don’t go over well with “An Unfitting Ending” followed by finale “Roll Credits,” the only track featuring the complete Sativa Prophets lineup.
Musically, it’s all a shockingly effective shot at bringing you deeper and deeper into this world and environment, not just by tossing out club tracks, but by the subtle tweaks that give you the feeling of hearing these insistent, blasting tracks through a hazy mind clouded over with both shame and shameful substances.
When the calm comes in the last third, it really does feel like a needed respite and a comfortable place to get honest and real. Not to mention that it’s also when guest and fellow Sativa Prophet CAJ gets a chance to pop in and showcase his massive talent for funk and soul.
Though it might sound strange for an in-character audio play about spending too much time and too much money at the club, “Pink Palace” weaves an unexpectedly personal story that wholly embraces the worst clichés and most bluntly problematic behaviors while also clearly reframing them as obviously bad ideas.
That said, it’s safe to assume that things are going to lean heavily to the wild, raunchy side when Mars Deli takes the stage alongside a huge roster of special guests to premiere the album live during the hotly anticipated Pajama Jammy Jam 4 on Saturday, September 17th. Hosted at OK Culture Lounge in Warr Acres, the night is set to feature vendors, an art show, a “best pajamas” contest, and more.
Tickets for the event are on sale now through eventbrite.com.
Follow Mars Deli on Instagram at @gregthestallion and follow the full Sativa Prophets Collective at @sativaprophets on Instagram and Twitter.
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.
