Local Review: Earthworm – Hiding Yourself From Everyone You Love

Earthworm
Hiding Yourself From Everyone You Love

Street : 09.23.19
Self-Released
Earthworm = Blu + Black Milk + J Dilla

For those who enjoy hip-hop music to kick back to, the latest EP from local artist Earthworm, Hiding Yourself From Everyone You Love, could be a perfect fit. The three songs on the EP are a fantastic sampling of what this artist has to offer: clean bars, unique and complicated rhythmic structures and chilled-out beats reminiscent of a “24/7 lo-fi music to study to” playlist.

The first song on Hiding Yourself, “Strange Place,” greets the listener with a piano-riff sample that slowly builds until the beat drops. Earthworm coming in strongly, saying, “Tried to serve them something different / Word to my position / Words design the vision / Then worsen when the verse is written / Immerse myself in different versions when I’m hurtin’.”

These lyrics capture the general theme of Earthworm’s work on this EP. As a local rapper, he’s presenting a product that’s vastly different from what some of his peers are putting out. He’s able to use his words to weave a picture of his experiences. He doesn’t shy away from using poetic imagery in his lyrics. He seems to know who he is as an artist and is genuine and real, rapping about where he lives and what he knows.

In this light, Earthworm isn’t afraid to talk about his home. He raps about living in Ogden, saying he’s “off of 25th and Wall with the fifth,” on “Strange Place.” This is refreshing to hear in a local rapper. Too frequently, rappers in Utah seem to want to shy away from repping where they live. Earthworm doesn’t want to do this, which makes his body of work more real and genuine sounding when compared to other local MCs who just seem to want to constantly flex their style, misogyny, money, etc.

The beats on the EP are pretty much flawless and suit Earthworm well. Like his vocal delivery, the instrumentals are chilled-out, steadily marking moments in time with simple boom bap–style drum kits and jazzy, relaxing samples that slide along smoothly. “Boys Like Flowers Too” is a particularly strong track, featuring piano and jazz samples chopped and screwed in an exquisite way. Earthworm couples with these samples well with the lyrics, “Toss my body to the water like it ain’t mine / I’m here and oh so gone at the same time.” Later in the track, he repeats the phrase, “I fall to pieces and she glues me back together / Eyelids heavy and my limbs grow limp,” which is a fantastic example of the imagery and wordplay Earthworm uses with ease throughout the EP.

Stay tuned for more releases from Earthworm. Though these three tracks are short, they are a fantastic showcase of the artist. I hope to see more releases of this caliber coming from Earthworm soon.–Taylor Hartman

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