As a rapper and producer, Mary Sue—generally called Sue by listeners—proved himself as one of the most promising voices of the current underground hip-hop scene with his 2022 debut album Kisses of Life, inspired by the death of one of his heroes, MF DOOM. Woozy, crunchy samples, inward-looking, self-reflective lyricism, and lavish, stylish production drove that album.
Nothing, in terms of quality, has changed since Kisses of Life. Yet Sue’s mentality has matured since 2022, becoming more faithful, balanced, and optimistic even if his life remains one marred with hardships and problems. With his recently released EP Casper’s Glove, Sue toes the line of recovery while continuing to grapple with various ghosts.
Sue’s remaining melancholy is palpable on the record’s sleepy and simultaneously bouncy opening track, “Chicken Noodle Soup.” In fact, this opener is a good microcosm of Casper’s Glove as a whole; it is a song that balances delicate hope against harsh truth and past trauma. Thoughtfully utilizing a feature from charismatic New York rapper Jay Cinema to introduce a more aspirational perspective to the track, its two verses create an engaging contrast both sonically and ideologically which, perhaps, are a way for Sue to express both sides of his inner struggle, a choice made to pinpoint his sadness and warmth side by side. That, or, it may be a song intended to make the listener sink into sadness before being lifted by Cinema’s much more positive words. Sue’s lyrics here reflect on feeling like “a pallbearer, marching with no casket, weighing all the baggage / what it feels when momentum turns to static, hair raised at the thought of being passive.” He delivers a potent expression of his anxieties and emotional difficulties yet Cinema’s verse is more optimistic and focused on gratitude, seeing him speak on being a “warrior, always tearin’ off the bandage” and “making art just to raise the standards.” His relaxed delivery speaks for itself, exuding confidence and juxtaposing Sue’s lethargic vocals. All this atop a looping beat of lively but muffled piano (the project’s key element throughout) paints a delicate but uplifting picture sustained across the next four songs.
The intimacy of Sue’s lyrics through Casper’s Glove entirety makes the music so stirring. It seems clear that Sue uses his artistry as a mode of self-expression, a way to engage with his demons from a safer distance. His words are deeply introspective and heartfelt, lost in his spacious soundscapes full of jazzy instrumentation. The beat for “Numbers” features a beautiful, Nujabes-style sample of lively horns, relaxed bass, and space but crunchy drums—it’s gorgeous. That same track sees Sue repeat that the mature wisdom “no one but me gon’ find my peace,” even directly stating that he “pray[s] I grow from my bars,” a neat double entendre reflecting his feelings of emotional imprisonment and hoping to use his rapping to alleviate those pains.
These five immersive tracks, though brief, touch on a wide variety of discussion points, all of which are close to Sue’s heart. He primarily focuses on his mental health, music, faith, maturation, and love for his grandmother, who seemingly suffers from dementia. He mentions her losing memories multiple times—surely informing the EP’s melancholic tone—but makes a point to also draw attention to her love for others and his admiration of that side of her. “Phantom,” the record’s most vulnerable track, and it’s closer, sees Sue say, “I need my grandma but she don’t remember.” These implicit references to her struggles with her gradually diminishing memories are poignant because they make Sue’s world feel so lived in and so honest, making his pains—as well as his expressions of fleeting joys—palpable.
Casper’s Glove may only be 11 minutes long but carries weight regardless. It is a deeply moving EP full of beautiful beats tinged with a touching sadness crammed between meaningful, emotive lyricism. The production is clean and cohesive, merging chipmunk soul with the style of beat-making popularized in underground rap by New York’s sLUms collective. Sue has his own style, though, as any listener is sure to discover, boldly and confidently merging sub-genres, always searching for the most sonically effective way to communicate his ideas to any listener. Few rappers can create projects that oscillate between being very listenable, accessible, and sobering in their sound, but Casper’s Glove manages to be all throughout. It’s a chameleonic myriad of different influences, feelings, and expressions, like a patchwork collection of Sue’s most personal thoughts; catchy and disorienting, energetic yet lethargic, luscious and mystifying but proudly lo-fi, always delivered nonchalantly with tender passion. A fascinating collection of emotional and auditory contrasts, it’s a terrific EP experience.
