Some artists spend their entire careers searching for the one sound or stylistic feature that neatly summarises their spirit and never find it. However, rapper Mary Sue—across vocals and production, having self-produced the majority of his work to date—has not only created a catchy yet melancholic DIY style with his debut album kisses of life, but also seems insistent on repeatedly challenging this idea of having any single established sound be associated with his work as a whole.
There are, of course, some similarities between his projects. Sue’s lyricism is always very intimate, themes of mental health and his cultural background often appears. There’s also a slightly hypnotic sleepiness to his sound much of the time (with exceptions, such as his collaborative album with Psychedelic Ensemble, which is more brutal and manic). But Mary Sue’s catalog is one characterized by its versatility and an engaging sense of ongoing exploration, manifesting in each release carrying a renewed sound. In less than five years, Sue has moved from the lethargic, DIY approach heard on kisses of life to the glitchy chaos of CACAPHONOUS DIGRESSIONS to even the more mature, jazzy, poetry-inspired Porcelain Shield, Paper Sword.
Now, Rapihaler boldly combines various features of those prior albums into an adventurous, yet cohesive record—one recognizable as a Mary Sue album while still pushing into new genres and directions. It’s sometimes relaxed, sometimes jumpy and frenetic, sometimes more rigorously focused, and other times intent on defying expectations by repeatedly switching up its sound, shifting from the more accessible pop-rap characteristics of “Desire/CCTV” to the bleak, thudding beat on the politically charged “Stardust.” Beginning with a luxurious instrumental intro, Sue’s album itself is a deliberately structured exploration and celebration of his flexibility in his personal life and his music. It charts further mental maturity and a desire to embrace his background as a rapper from Singapore, helping give an artistic platform to other Southeast Asian voices and talents. More simply, it’s a joyous listening experience, fuelled by witty, pensive lyricism, mostly vivid, percussion-driven beats (complete with Sue’s familiar use of excellently selected samples), and a thoughtful collection of features.
Just a quick listen to the warbly, relaxed instrumental of “Play2TheWhistle” and the much more precisely timed, slightly eerie thuds of “Stardust” proves this point, and a full listen to the album provides the listener with a neatly designed compact experience that is simultaneously full of sonic range. As a lyricist, Sue can be humorous: “Made me VAR, she bad, I had to look twice” is a personal favorite. Elsewhere, he engages with his own personal experiences and wider political issues in poetic and emotionally sobering ways, creating an album that can surprise a listener while feeling like a fuller expression of Sue’s personality. Although the album certainly delves into some bleak topics—the skittish drums on “Catapult” provide a lively backing as Sue mentions being “consumed by my anger… stressing for an answer… ‘til my lungs gave away… my health made me break,” and “Stardust” speaks explicitly about the multiple ongoing conflicts in the Middle East with reflections on colonialism also appearing throughout Rapihaler—Sue spends much of the album striving to find hope, finally finding it on its emotive closer ‘U Wish!’
The features from the likes of Southeast Asian singers and rappers Dametrill, ABANGSAPAU, MISTER TWO FIVE, and more, further the multiculturalism of the album, energetically hopping between different genres—sporadically blending in elements of soul, R&B, and pop—and changing just as frequently between languages, too. Dametrill’s engaging verse on the wonderfully light, chirpy “WALAO!,” for instance, is largely delivered in Cantonese while Sue’s verse combines English with Chinese. Elsewhere, there are features in Malay and a vocal recording of Sue’s niece speaking Teochew, among others. Sue expresses his experiences through mentions of a variety of cultures throughout the album, with references to the young French footballer Désiré Doué and Real Madrid’s British midfielder Jude Bellingham, Charlotte’s Web, The Beatles’ “Let It Be,” and Morgan Freeman’s performance as God in Bruce Almighty, just to name a few. This all contributes to the fast-moving energy—created by the frequent shifts in musical style and lyrical focal points—and cross-culturalism of the record, portraying Sue’s personality vividly while emphasizing his Southeast Asian roots.
As Sue concludes an album which he states was “made during a time when [he] was fighting for breath” (mentally and due to asthma, with this album made as a distraction from those physical health concerns), he leaves the listener with a probing, optimistic moment on its final track, the lethargic and sample-heavy “U Wish!” While acknowledging his flaws and ongoing difficulties atop a catchy, sample-layered beat, Sue addresses his audience directly: “Am I giving up? You wish / I’m grateful as fuck I’m living / More pain when you love too big / No shame moving on, God willing.” This impactful closer ends this atmospheric album with a stirring moment of catharsis, highlighting Sue learning how to breathe again and keep moving.
