CupcakKe has been anything but sweet in her previous albums, but her new album “Eden” might just be a turning point for her.
She began her career by releasing smaller projects, but as of last January she released her first full length album, “Ephorize,” and her expectations only grew from there. The album was consistently good and laid a solid foundation for the rest of her career, which inevitably led her to produce “Eden.”
The 34-minute album defies all standards for women in the music industry, which is not unusual for any CupcakKe album. The Chicago rapper often raps about sex and calls her loyal fans her “slupers.” Though she has a reputation for rapping freely about her liberating sex life, she is no stranger to singing about equality, self-love and more meaningful topics — not to say that her sex life isn’t meaningful.
“Ephorize” was CupcakKe’s way of coming out as a more serious rapper. The album opened with “2 Minutes,” where she says, “Life go up and down like a light switch.” This may not sound particularly serious, but for CupcakKe, it’s dead serious. In her song “Crayons,” she speaks on the importance of acceptance, “Love is love, who give a f**k“. CupcakKe’s pro-LGBTQ lyrics are rare for her genre.
She has no boundaries which only works in her favor, but in this album her tone changes. She starts to talk about more serious topics, but still keeps her signature fun beat.
The female artist is breaking all kinds of boundaries and she’s only 21. “Eden” is an excellent representation of the kind of work that she is capable of. In one of the album’s tracks, “Cereal and Water” she raps about her feelings on sexual abuse, “That’s funny when abusers ain’t locked away. They in the crib giving more beats than Dr. Dre.”
The line is harsh but, yet again, is not something that is too harsh for CupcakKe. A few years ago, she released a song called “Pedofile” on which she spoke about her past sexual trauma and how it made her into who she is today.
The brilliance in the artists is that she can go from talking about serious subjects to comparing her vagina to “Garfield” in only a few seconds. In a more serious track on the album, “A.U.T.I.S.M.,” she raps about her love for her fans with autism in a way to make them feel accepted. In an article in “Rolling Stone” she says, “I [wanted] something special that can hit home for people who are dealing with autism.” She did just that, while keeping the beat fun.” ”I [wanted] something special that can hit home for people who are dealing with autism.” She did just that, while keeping the beat fun.”
The most impressive part of “Eden” might be that there are no featured artists. She is still considered to be an up-and-coming artist, but she was bold enough to do her first full length album solo. This works in her favor, as she has enough room to do a variety of vocal ranges and different characters.
Her album is definitely up to par with her other works. She has mastered the art of playing different roles in her albums and it pays off. As a young, black, female artist, CupcakKe hasn’t had an easy journey to success. But, now that she is rising to the top, there is no looking back for the talented artist, besides looking back at it.
