By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Injury Reserve

Upon hearing of the passing of Injury Reserve's Stepa J. Groggs, I was shocked and deeply saddened. Ever since I heard him rap on Floss, I was a fan. I loved his flow, the tone of his voice, and his willingness to be an open book as it relates to his demons, most notably his alcoholism. After the terrible news sunk in, I couldn't help but wonder what that meant for the future of Injury Reserve. For the time being, it looks like the group is continuing since yesterday we received a brand new album titled By the Time I Get to Phoenix. The release is bittersweet because it might possibly feature the last of the work contributed by Groggs before his untimely passing.

Injury Reserve is one of those groups where you can't really expect what they are going to do. Floss, I can confidently say, is a pop rap classic, but the group has shown a bit of an experimental edge on later releases. I can tell you for sure though that the sound of this record is unlike anything I ever could have expected. Injury Reserve has succeeded in creating the most impenetrable rap album. Discombobulated beats, questionable vocal effects, awkward flows and inflections, and bars that come off like casual conversation as opposed to thoughtfully assembled prose. The experience is painful, and perhaps intentionally so as there isn't much joy to be felt amidst living during a global pandemic, a toxic social climate, an actual toxic climate, and on top of that mourning your closest of friends.

I don't want to get nit-picky. Instead, I would like to highlight the two spots that I really enjoyed. The first is the song Top Picks For You which has an ambient instrumental with a great chord progression, and the lead melody is also great too although I'm not sure of the sound's origin. It could be a synthesizer or a slightly distorted auto-tuned vocal. This song features some pretty heavy verses from Ritchie With a T about Groggs' persisting influence on the physical world despite him no longer being present. Whether its being suggested a show on Netflix that was definitely meant to be a suggestion for Groggs, seeing Groggs' children growing into the appearance of their father, or how Groggs will continue to influence the sound of Injury Reserve so that when he comes back, it will be like he never left. That last one really gets to me.

The first single Knees is also really heavy, taking nearly every muscle in my body not to be overcome with emotion. Unlike the rest of the tracks, this song does have some pretty gripping vocal hooks. "Knees hurt me when I grow...and that's a tough pill to swallow." The song's mantra reminds us that no matter how much we grow, not physically but mentally with experience, we can still carry pain and sorrow to debilitating ends. Groggs' verses again share painful insights into his drinking. He talks about his deep seated stomach, his aunt asking why he always looks drunk, contemplating taking alcohol off the tour rider, and his reluctance to commit to getting sober. I'm not sure if this track was fully assembled prior to Groggs' passing, but knowing now that he is gone, his words are ominous. The instrumental features two clashing beats which is very fitting with the rest of the instrumentals on this record, but for some reason I like it here. The free-form nature of it feels like I'm being set adrift, but I'm constantly being yanked back to reality.

I have to give Injury Reserve credit for making one of the most daring, out-of-left-field hip-hop records I think I've ever heard. I'm thinking of other unconventional records even outside of the hip-hop genre, and few seem to rival the lengths Injury Reserve went to to completely demolish the 'rules.' As it turns out, it wasn't to my taste and that is okay. I wouldn't ask them to do it any other way. I'm not sure what this means for the future of Injury Reserve now but I hope it doesn't spell the creative end for Ritchie and Parker Corey as they have demonstrated just how forward-thinking and insanely talented they are. Rest in peace Stepa J. Groggs.