Discussions of inspiration in hip-hop (or really in any genre) tend to focus on specific influential albums or artists, but Chicago rapper-producer Ausar Bradley found creative fuel in an algorithm. In a recent video interview with local hip-hop blog Illanoize, he talked about what happened when he uploaded his first single to Soundcloud in fall 2015. “Excuses,” with its lightly chattering percussion and mellow soul keys, accumulated thousands of plays almost immediately, which confused Bradley—as much as he’d hoped to attract listeners, he knew he was an unknown, and he couldn’t figure out where all those people were coming from. He got his answer after he listened to Chance the Rapper’s first Coloring Book single, “Angels.”
Later on The 6 Page Letter, in “PSA Pt. 1 & 2,” Bradley raps, “I run the risk of being too transparent.” I’m not sure I can agree—that is, I think “too transparent” is a category that might not exist where he’s concerned. He sifts through difficult details of his autobiography—his indifference to his dad’s resistance to Bradley’s dream career, his anxiety about the secrets he’s hiding from his mother, his struggle to save enough money to eat—and he’s at his best when he opens up about his uncertainties. Like many rappers before him, he thanks God for his successes and his skills, but when it comes to facing the fog of the future—or even the unknown present—he looks inward to find a path. The 6 Page Letter sounds sure-footed and professionally polished, so that Bradley enriches it enormously by opening up about his doubts.
