By Jacob Leavey
Rapper and producer che’s August 2024 record Sayso Says is a collection of underground bangers that wears its influences proudly on its sleeve. The album seamlessly incorporates influences from various artists into a brand new sound, from the twinkly synths and haunting instrumentals of witch house greats such as Crystal Castles and Pictureplane to the hard beats and pulsing 808s of rap artists such as Chief Keef, Young Thug, and Lil Wayne.
The influence of witch house isn’t immediately apparent. The album's first half is typical underground hip hop, with many instrumentals and vocal performances from che resembling artists such as OsamaSon. At its midpoint, “Interlude,” the album takes a turn into the madness of witch house — the instrumental could have been a track off of Crystal Castles’ 2008 album (I). This moment represents the development and full establishment of che’s titular alter ego Sayso. Sayso is referenced as che’s “dark side” or as a “demon” that haunts che and his loved ones. After the interlude, the witch house sound begins to be incorporated into che’s vocals on tracks such as “It’s My Party and I’ll Die If I Want To” and “NUNCA HACER COCAINA,” and witch house-esque synths are used on other tracks throughout the rest of the album. The witch house influence culminates with the final track, “My Favorite Color Is Red,” where che even goes so far as to sample the vocals from Crystal Castles’ “Untrust Us.”
Overall, Sayso Says is a solid album. It brings new influences to the underground sound, which is always cool. che shows off many ways that witch house can be incorporated into underground hip hop, from samples to synths to instrumentals. If the album is lacking in any respect, it would be that the subject matter of the album (i.e. what che is rapping about) isn’t particularly revolutionary or deep or anything (many albums explore the concept of an alter ego, and the concept of Sayso as an alter ego could have been more thoroughly explored. It’s easy to assume that the album will have an effect similar to Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red insofar as it also paves the way for underground rappers to incorporate some different and cool influences into their albums.