For most, when they think of hip hop & rap as a genre, heavyweight greats like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, or many others come to mind. However, from mid 2022 to now,  underground Atlanta rapper Destroy Lonely, has been on a quest to set the world of rap on fire. With his latest album, “If Looks Could Kill,” topping charts and being recognized worldwide, he just may have succeeded. 

Destroy Lonely, born Bobby Sandamanie, has been making music for almost seven years. While he hasn’t been an especially small rapper, he really started to gain traction when on Halloween of 2022 he went live and previewed a song called “If Looks Could Kill.” This snippet immediately went viral, with TikToks posted to the song gaining over 75 million views, and an unofficial release being streamed 200,000 times, before the single was released 4 months later on the 3rd of March. After a slew of interviews, social media posts, even more snippets, and even a short film entitled “The Look Killa,” his album, entitled the same as his previous single, released on May 5. 

Upon first listen, it was clear this album was unlike anything the Atlanta rapper had ever done before. He strayed away from his usual and repeated style of “rage” style beats, quick flows, and autotuned voice, he instead used melancholic acoustic and electric guitar instrumentals, took his time delivering slow infectious melodies, and sharing more personal lyrics. This unique sound was first previewed in the aforementioned single, but highlights on this album take this sound to a new level. 

While Destroy Lonely undoubtedly dropped his best work yet, this album is not without it’s flaws. With a tracklist of 26 songs, and a runtime of 83 minutes, this album has some obvious filler. It’s likely that this was intended to capitalize on his recent success and generate more sales. However, this does not subtract from the highlights of this album. 

The sound Lonely was trying to emphasize shines through on tracks like “How U Feel?,” “By The Pound,” “Superstar”, “Brazy Girls,” “Moment Of Silence,” “Raver,” and especially “Safety – Interlude,” a near six-minute track of pure remorse where he shares his most raw and unfiltered feelings, truly pouring his soul into the music.   

While this album is unnecessarily long, the combination of the Atlanta rapper’s emotion and this near unheard of sound, especially from a hip hop artist, creates an experience like no other. The album has hit #1 on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube music, and on the date of its release Lonely’s music was streamed more than legendary rappers like Drake and Kanye West. While it’s unsure what Destroy Lonely has planned for the future, “If Looks Could Kill”  has proved he can do whatever he puts his mind to.