We’re trapped in a world where to embrace greed is the standard and to seek good is sometimes foreign. It’s a plague we’ve all been inflicted with that seeps from the boardrooms of legislators to the classrooms of children.
“VILLIANS” is Elley Duhé’s bold and reflective take on the evil that's embedded in society, in the systems that run it, and in each one of us–whether we are aware or not. With production from Cobe Jones, Elley’s rusty vocals growl over the grimy trap pop beat’s heavy bass and slithering snares as she questions the way the world runs.
“VILLIANS” speaks on mankind's constant fight to get ahead at the expense of others. It acknowledges that at some point in our lives, we've all played both prey and predator. “I think I see our societies as being very misguided (me included) and suffering at the hands of governments while we are left to fight over scraps and fight each other, so I've always felt a great mistrust in our world,” Elley shares with EARMILK. “I realized that even though I want with all my heart to be a good person and I work on practising what I preach, at the end of the day, I’m somebody’s villain, even if just by association by buying into things like phones and electronics that others are mining under horrific conditions in another country or the clothes I'm wearing… I’ve also been a victim of lost toxic people in my life as well, so I’m a villain and a victim on so many levels.” “VILLIANS” powerfully demonstrates that in the process of progressing, we, as flawed humans, tend to perpetuate harm in our conscious and subconscious actions.
While Elley loathes the world’s dog-eat-dog rhetoric, she sympathizes with others stuck in this maze, having been lost in it herself, singing: “Everybody's f*cked and I don't get it. I guess I get it; you get it when you can get it." With impressive wordplay, Elley explains that in order to make it, society expects that there will inevitably be winners and losers. But what Elley points to as the real loss of mankind is adopting an attitude of apathy as we inflict evil on one another. The message of “VILLIANS” comes at a timely moment for our generation. "VILLIANS" encourages us to listen critically and tear down the crooked ideologies that have been normalized since the beginning of time. An essential dose of reality for today’s conflicted political climate, Elley’s words sting like a painful but necessary antiseptic.
If evil is inherent, are we all hopeless? Not so. Yes, there’s a glitch in the system, but there’s a fix: empathy.
Listen to “VILLIANS” above and check out our review of Elley Duhé’s debut EP DRAGON MENTALITY here.
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