Check Out Wassup Rocker’s Mellowed Out Love Song Trialing The Frustrations Of Toxic Love In The Gen Z-Dominant Digital Age.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
Wassup Rocker- “Toxic”
RIYL: Something that isn’t a Britney cover.
What else you should know: Juan Carlos Castillo, also known as Wassup Rocker, is a product of the soft-boy, lo-fi sound that has increasingly taken over the ears of Gen Z.
The Dallas-based rapper’s single, “Toxic,” delivers smooth wordplay over a cheery beat, putting a filter over a relationship that seems to be less than picture-perfect. The tune starts with the rapper making promises of a renewed love, “unblock my number, and I promise we’ll be fine,” but will they really?
After the first minute, the song transitions into a slow beat as Castillo seems to come to terms with the toxicity both parties have emitted.
What’s most interesting about this song, though, is Castillo’s ability to illustrate his emotions as they happen — his delivery and wordplay create something to resonate with.
The use of slightly tart guitar riffs layed over his vocals make for an especially relatable moment as he flows, “honestly when I’m not with you bitch/I really feel sad.” We felt that.
Who knows, maybe you will feel it too after a listen through the barely-two-minute song. And maybe, like Castillo, you’ll realize your own toxic traits and learn from them. Or at the very least have a new song to run back.