$uicideboy$ – Stop Staring at the Shadows (Purple Smoke Vinyl)

$uicideboy$'s Stop Staring at the Shadows arrived in 2020 as a compact but telling statement from the New Orleans duo of $crim and Ruby da Cherry. Across 12 tracks in roughly 26 minutes, it sharpens the mix that made them such a singular presence in underground rap: Southern trap weight, horrorcore imagery, punk melody and sudden turns inward. That tension between confrontation and confession is central here, and it helps explain why the album was later certified Gold by the RIAA in 2023.

What makes this record stick is how efficiently it moves between extremes. The production leans on distorted synth haze, stripped-back drums, fried bass and bursts of jittery piano or warped horns, giving the songs a volatile, close-quarters feel. Tracks like All Dogs Go to Heaven and What the Fuck Is Happening push the duo's frantic, abrasive side, while I Wanna Be Romanticized opens a more vulnerable space around failed relationships and bruised self-examination.

Rather than smoothing those opposites out, Stop Staring at the Shadows thrives on the contrast. It captures $uicideboy$ in a focused mode, keeping the arrangements short and hook-heavy while letting mood shifts do the heavy lifting. For listeners coming to the group through later releases, this is a strong snapshot of how they balanced nihilism, melody and emotional candour in the period just after their first full-length breakthrough.

Reviews

• The 45th project from prolific rap duo $uicideboy$, 2020's Stop Staring at the Shadows provides fans with staples of their signature styles and venture into new territory. - AllMusic.com