Without a doubt, Well$ has one of the funniest mixtape titles to come out this year: MTSYD: The Revenge Of The African Booty Scratcher. While the latter half definitely creates a nasty image in one's mind, like everything this Charlotte native does, it hides a deeper and more personal meaning within the explicit manifestation of a person's anal fixation.
Being a Congolese-American, the 19 year old emcee faced his share of disparaging remarks and cruel teasing from his peers in school; one such name often thrown at him, was "Booty Scratcher". However, he isn't just laying down or purely documenting that point in his life, Well$ is reclaiming it and using it as a tool to achieve his lofty goals of domination.Through fifteen tracks, a journey that is over an hour long, the Booty Scratcher claws his way out of the depths and makes the light completely his.
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While Well$ is still relatively young, he displays a wisdom beyond his years. The more you listen to the project, the more apparent it becomes that he is unusually self-aware and able to properly critique himself and his generation. He is torn between his ambition to become a great rapper and the realities of his home life; not being able to eat an adequate meal, but hesitant to get a real job to contribute to his family's mounting bills. Through the rips and tares, listeners find out about Well$' history, aspirations, and most importantly, personality. For a project to be so emotional and heart wrenching at times, it is a pleasant surprise to see that he was able to incorporate his own humor and influences into it. There are number of sarcastic or half-hearted references or total redefinition of many of hip hop's common tropes.
Throughout MTSYD: The Revenge Of The African Booty Scratcher, Well$ comes across as a good kid that is stuck in some unfortunate circumstances. However, he doesn't take these at just face value, which is a welcomed change from the typical emo-conscious rap that has become standard for many intellectual emcees. If you are willing to try something different, you should head over to his soundcloud and stream the project in full.
Well$
MTSYD: The Revenge Of The African Booty Scratcher
