Last year, we introduced you to a dope hip hop artist out of Texas, Erinem. She caught the industry's attention with her 2021 project, "The Gambit". 12 months later, she's back with a brand new sound, style and message. Her new release is a 5 song EP entitled, "Y.B.A.L.A." which is an acronym for "You Bitches Ain’t Listening Anyway." It's a funny title because this project feels curated specifically for her real listeners.
"Y.B.A.L.A." kicks off with a track called You where she raps with a theatrical dose of enthusiasm that brings life to the song's lyrics and its sick beat. The second track is one of my favorites. Entitled Bitches, the song is set to a Western themed carnival beat. I love the song's originality. She raps, "never been in rarer form, ain't a soul I won't out perform." Bitches also features a nice verse from D12 rapper, Bizarre who goes hard when he spits about having dirty, drug filled sex, "leaning, leaning, leaning, feening off the Adderall. Leaning, leaning, leaning. I'm popping Tylenol."
Erinem is often asked if her artist name might have some relationship to the hip hop legend Eminem, but its really just a combination of her first and last names. And while she appreciates the comparison, its actually just a "fortunate coincidence." To be clear though, you can hear a strong influence of Eminem's style and sound in her delivery. She admits he's singularly the artist she was most influenced by, and probably the artist she is most often compared to.
On Ain't you'll be about a minute in before the full beat drops. But when it kicks in, the song powers into overdrive. The beat, the circus themed loops, and the lyrics mesh well on this song. Its definitely one to add to your new music playlist.
"Feeling like a runaway. In my room, I hideaway."
Another highlight on the EP is Listening. Throughout the album, Erinem makes subtle references to her love life and how she's navigating through that. This song reveals a bit more of some of the drama she's speaking on. She raps, "I know that you cheated. I know that your DMs can be deleted." Artists who can be authentic in their music will always resonate. She does a great job of bringing listeners along with her on life's journey.
It’s been several years since Erinem started her musical journey--devoting her full self to her gift. In this time, Erinem learned to produce, mix, master, how to play piano and read sheet music (fluently), how to sample records, and to make beats. She also immersed herself in the history and culture of hiphop. But with each musical milestone came a bout of struggle, grit, and pain. Despite the hardship--she lived in poverty, isolation, and utter oblivion--Erinem has kept her focus and determination that this is her time, saying that "these hard years have been, without question, the best years of [her] life."
The last track on the EP is a special one. It's the most melodic of the project, and also is quite revealing. Entitled Anyway, it's a more mellow, intimate sound for Erinem who renders a nice hook on the chorus before rapping, "some days I'm an expert, other days a fraud. I don't know what's next, but I know the system's flawed."
Erinem's new EP, Y.B.A.L.A. is out now and available on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.
SOCIAL + STREAMING:
—ALBUM ON SPOTIFY—
https://open.spotify.com/album/4yb7e6wsei7fQmBg0mV9RH?si=p0OzHzwTS5i1zDDF3zIzmw
—ON OTHER STREAMING PLATFORMS—
https://www.erinem.com/ybala
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