398 - Welcome To The Darkside is a dark poetic description of life about some of it's darkest realities. These rap tunes are melodic all the way through. Welcome To The Darkside can be noted for its deep lyrics and dark concepts. His lyrics are well written as they are hardcore and realistic. Other songs are even religious. The album does have a dark eerie feel. This album is much different then to what you heard before. This album is old but some music never looses it's potency. The album itself is worth downloading and streaming.
398 composed all the songs on this album entirely by himself using a keyboard he bought back in the 90s. This album was sold in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood of Houston and was later re-released online to CDBaby in 2005.
Intro welcomes us to the dark side. A heartbeat is played throughout the song leaving short but thumping impacts on your headphone. The song uses a 32Hz bass test tone right in the middle of the song. The intro itself as a whole is very dark.
398 himself can be heard speaking in reverse towards the end of Intro. In fact, interestingly enough he reversed the whole song so the listener(s) wouldn’t know what exactly he said. Here are some of the lyrics to what 398 spoke in reverse.:
I grabbed my dong
then she pulled it out
and she wanted to lick
We’re both trying
licking on my dick
licking on my dick
licking on my dick
licking on my dick
I knew she was all up on
licking on my dick
licking on my dick
licking on my dick
that nigga penis
that nigga be blessed
that nigga be choking on head
like my dick
got it up and down like a roller coaster
got it up against the wall like a poster
I don’t love you
398 takes on a journey into the dark side on the song Welcome To The Darkside. Welcome To The Darkside can be noted for its deep lyrics and dark concepts. The sound is very dark and raw. Piano keys used have a very dark foreboding brooding mood to them. The title itself and its vibe gives it darkness. Its sound effects give off such quirkiness. You will see the light after listening to Welcome To The Darkside.
The sound is very much similar to early Bone Thugs N Harmony, Three 6 Mafia, DJ Paul, Crunchy Black, DJ Zirk, ghetto tech, gangsta rap, electronic music, Tommy Wright III, Gangsta Blac, Abstract Unique, Busta Rhymes, and Memphis rap from the early 90s. In fact his rapping style is very much similar to Tommy Wright III and early Bone Thugs N Harmony.
The song 398 has that clinically insane, psychotic eerie vibe that will make you want to sit in a cardboard box and rock back & forth repetitively in fast motion. This is one of those songs to rock back & forth to, sit in a corner to stare at a wall all day to, bite your fingernails to, mentally break down to, and emotionally break down to. This song will drive you to sit in a corner and stare at a wall all day.
398 experiments with a reggae sound by using a Jamaican Patois accent when rapping. That is why the song 398 has a reggae vibe.
Revelations is a religious rap song with a dark eerie vibe. The keyboards used on this religious rap gives it an appropriate dark eerie vibe to blend with the soundscape.
398 reminds us that can run and hide but we can’t escape the inevitable. Meaning that we can’t escape death. That is the message 398 himself is trying to convey to us. Revelations don’t lie. Believe what you feel. However the truth is ultimately right. He makes references to Bible Verse Aust 11:17.
Hold On is a religious rap song written and arranged by 398. 398 gets in touch with his religious side on this song of his. The song uses bits of bells and claves.
Heaven has been so hard to find. He’s been asking God to take him because of hard times lately. He asks God to make feel peace within his soul because all he sees is chaos in this world. He’s been under the influence of Prexor, Prozac, and Arisol. And of course other shit he can’t recall. The reason why he is going through all of this negativity is because of his bad luck.
398 tells us to hold on to your own because you can’t help nobody else. Hold on to your own because you can’t help nobody here. Hold on to what you got. Don’t give it to nobody.
398 is always in some shit whether it be good or bad. Nobody wants to help him. Not even family. He’s seen many people down.Many people who were down on their luck or either going through hard times. He tried help them but couldn’t help them all.
Trunk Of Funk has bass that will rattle your speakers layered over eerie soundscapes from a keyboard used ingeniously by none other than 398 himself. His rapping style on this song very much similar to Tommy Wright III and early Bone Thugs N Harmony.
Ride 4 Me starts of with a dark eerie vibe with heavy pultruding bass lines from a keyboard synthesizer. 398 talks about memories on this song. No Survivors is a hardcore rap song with edgy lyrics. 398 does not hold back in his rap.
War & Love is an eerie rap song about survival. The beats are tight and so is the instrumentation arrangement. The trilogy of a thug starts in the ghetto. Gloom and doom fills the room. The Teflon is ready, clipped to catch one. A thug has battle scars. Drama will get you one the edge when you live in the ghetto. The realist soldier can only survive so much. A thug can’t see war and love clearly.
I rate this album 5/5*****!!
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