Rest in peace, Chase. You are forever in our hearts.
TW: Suicide.
It took me a really long time to fully digest the passing of my favorite artist. It kinda hits you like a ton of bricks; at first, I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine someone as cheerful as this man was actually going through so much more than what I could imagine. Being perpetually stuck in the same routines with the same people sharing the same negative convictions that are shoved down your throat and nailed into your head as a child; giving you some sort of unrealistic image of yourself: the “Perfect Being” that if you don’t become. If you will fail, you’ll be a disappointment to people as they’ve built an expectation of you through their own trauma. I can empathise with that as I’ve grown in that same environment. I thought I couldn’t understand what being happy and free was until I was able to escape that vicious cycle.
Chase Amick (AKA. 6dogs) committed suicide on the 26th of January this year.
While mental health and wellbeing are being brought up to the forefront of music for the past few years; it never covered the more subtle ways the mental state of a person can deteriorate. The most popular music nowadays talks about murder and the repercussions of murder; the mental toll it has on people and their loved ones. However, Chase was talking to the people that weren’t forced into a life they didn’t wanna lead – be it gang warfare or drug dealing. He was talking to the kid that didn’t have any friends growing up, the one that was bullied at school for having long hair, the one that held their parents to the highest degree and immortalised them as if they were god themselves.
I was that kid.
Let’s start talking about his album that came out after the incident: RONALD.
If you’ve read my previous article on 6dogs, I’m sure you can tell that I’m a HUGE fan of his entire discography and his overall sound. But this album made me cry harder than any movie, book, break-up, or record that I’ve ever experienced before.
Once again, I write this article with swollen eyes and tears on my cheeks for how beautifully crafted and thoughtful this masterpiece is. We’ll be doing the same old same old; review my favourite tracks and implore you to listen to the rest on you own (even though I would recommend ANY and EVERY song off this album).
When I Was A Baby:
This song is all about Chase reminiscing about his past, being one of the weird outcasts from most “fun” things when he was younger while also contrasting that exact point by talking about how much he’s progressed in his artistic ventures. The chorus practically explains this, stating that: “Died my hair when I was 16. Weird boy ballin’, Dennis Rodman on the 18.”
In addition to the thoughtful lyricism, the song just BANGS. The revered melody that chops and screws at certain points to give space and emphasis on the delivery. The heavy and spacey 808 coupled with a fruity, bouncy hihat pattern makes for a song to just sit down for and appreciate (specially the DBZ references).
Starfire (Teen Titans):
One of the two singles to come out as per album rollout; Starfire sounds like being transported to an intergalactic landscape and doing donuts in an all-Black Escalade. The lyricism centers around (from my perspective) social anxiety; the rush of escapism from driving down a highway at 3 AM trying to avoid all social interactions since they bring 6dogs “tears all up on my phone". A whole lot of feels with this one while still banging harder than most of the songs on your playlist.
Genie In A Bottle:
This is the song I play when I wanna get in my feel real quick; it’s the sort of sad vibe that also goes out of its way just to flex how much 6dogs drips, so I like feeling as if I could drip like that too.
As far as bars go, the song’s about going against the expectations built by people that try to put you out of the game when all you should be caring about is getting in your bag; the people that wish for your downfall but you blow all of those assumptions out the window and gain big time. However, from time to time, they can get to you. Reminding you of how weak you were back then and being grateful for what you’ve been able to build up all on your own.
(All these emotions flood you as the beat literally blows your speakers up.)
That’s it. That’s the album, these are my thoughts, and this is how much I love and appreciate everything 6dogs left. I think the main reason I could talk the ears off my friends about Chase is that I feel as though if he were still around, I’d end up having him as a friend.
I know it sounds lame and pretty sappy, but I genuinely believed he’d blow up and that he’d get his flowers back when his self-titled album came out in 2017. But he didn’t, and it really upset me; it’s as if he just fell off the face of the Earth after releasing “Faygo Dreams”.
Anyways, thank you for reading this. I really hope you decide to listen to RONALD and the rest of his backlog. I think the best place to start would be the entirety of RONALD, then jumping to his 2019 release “Hi-Hats And Heartaches”; specifically “Cryin’ In The Rarri”, “It’s Worth Feeling Empty <3” and “Butterfly Doors to My Mind” (also read my article on “Hi-Hats And Heartaches”).
Cheers to good music.
