“I’m not too proud to ask for help,” raps SMILEZ in the chorus of “Mentally I’m Somewhere Else,” his latest single. It’s a simple line with complex implications — and it could only have been delivered by a vocalist of great expressive nuance. SMILEZ sounds damaged but tough, swaggering but humble, deeply troubled but profoundly optimistic, thoughtful but prepared for action. In short, he’s a person in full and the sort of character who can’t help but elicit sympathy from his listeners. With every wounded line he raps and every syllable he sings, he reaches out, bravely, to you.
Millions have reached back. As one of the most emotionally forceful rappers in the business — one who has always emphasized clarity and candor — the Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based artist has made profound connections with those who share his struggles and aspirations. Prior tracks have racked up millions of streams, including the lascivious 2020 hit “Head Shoulders” and its incendiary follow-up “Sit Back & Relax.” Tekashi 6ix9ine’s 2020 album Dummy Boy wouldn’t have been the same without SMILEZ’s rowdy feature. In these verses, Smilez confronts heartbreak, longing, addiction and substance abuse, societal acceptance and rejection, and the precarity of mental health. Through it all, he keeps his balance and his faith in himself. No matter the setback, he retains his unbreakable composure.
“Mentally I’m Somewhere Else” showcases SMILEZ’s vocal talents: his rapid-fire-rapped verses and soulfully sung hooks, delivered with unshakable confidence. But it’s also a demonstration of his musical creativity and arrangement smarts. For much of the song, he rhymes over a track with nothing but an elegant, resonant piano. It’s a sonic metaphor for Smilez’s meditative inner state and an undeniably beautiful track from an artist well-known for getting wild.
The clip for “Mentally I’m Somewhere Else,” which SMILEZ conceived and directed himself, extends the pensive mood. The video returns to a consistent theme of his writing: the divided internal state. An active version of SMILEZ, dressed in his signature sunny yellow clothing, raps across the frame at a mute and downcast SMILEZ captured in greyscale. This psychodrama is periodically interrupted by filmed sequences of SMILEZ as a toddler, surrounded by friends and family, possessing the integrity and coherence that the world wears away. Does the rapper regain himself? We don’t know for sure, but here’s a hint. By the end of the clip, the footage is in full color.
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