ALBUM PLAY BY PLAY: SEBii – VVV
BEST TRACKS: Racing, MeMe, Data Looting
FCC Dirty
Arguably, the most notable element separating SEBii from his contemporaries is the pitch of his voice, which he addresses in the first song on this album, Bingo. SEBii claims that despite what people think, his vocals aren’t pitch-bended and that it comes from practice. I appreciate that these bars are self-aware, original, and personal. I think he sounds better singing with a thinner, lower, strained pitch. When he sings quieter, his voice gets really soft, losing any grit and intonation, and everything he sings blends into an unappetizing mush.
Track two is MeMe. SEBii does a good job varying his pitch between soft and gritty in this song, which keeps it interesting. I love the way he says “I be looking super clean”. I love the raspy whisper of the outro, yet another pitch change. The bars, the flow and the beat is all here. This track is my second favorite on the album.
Moving on to the next track, Winter. Despite it being one of SEBii’s most popular songs I was underwhelmed. It has a solid beat, but this song has no notable lyrics, and sebii maintains a very soft pitch throughout the entire song, which gets monotonous and melds everything into a bland mass. This song is lacking intensity.
The next track is BahBahBah. Even the mystic strings couldn’t save this track. Again, the vocals are monotonous, lacking intonation and inflection.
Racing is the top track for me on the album. The intro has impeccable buildup, leading to a satisfying beat drop. We get to hear both the deeper, rougher side as well as the soft side of SEBii’s unique voice on this song, the variation of which keeps the listener invested. As far as instrumental goes, the sparking piano trills are charming.
Data Looting: This one is pretty catchy. Despite it sounding slightly repetitive, I’m not mad at it. At times though, the lyrics sound rushed and crammed into the bars.
The last track VVV is a cute outro. I can’t get past the soft, high pitched voice though, it sounds like there’s a mosquito in my ear it gets on my nerves.
I respect that SEBii is unapologetically himself, unashamedly making anime and pokemon references, and owning his unique voice. I wonder what he sounds like when he’s just having a normal conversation.
Safia