Sagar Bumsweat writes meditative raps on PROPERMEDITATION II

PROPERMEDITATION II is the second instillation is rapper/producer Sagar Bumsweat‘s PROPERMEDITATION series, the follow up to October 2017’s initial project. This project continues in the alternative rap realm Sagar casts throughout his previous work, building on preexisting themes both sonically and lyrically.

The multidisciplinary artist raps, produces, and mixes everything on PROPERMEDITATION II — impressive, considering that project mastermind Sagar Vasishtha also plays keys in Soft Idiot. Bandmate Mike Whalen of Soft Idiot contributes live guitar and bass parts throughout this tape. Other contributions to the album come in the form of features from rappers Black Costanza (from Shippensburg, PA) and Pink Navel (from Maine).

Lyrically, the tape includes reflections on youth, the transition to adulthood, and religious themes. Themes of youth come in all shapes and sizes on this project, from shredding on ripsticks on the second track to tape closer “6FACES, Ode to Cube,” a love letter to Nintendo’s GameCube.

The religious themes come though in meditative stylings, connecting with God through lyrics like “me and god got a dialogue brewing,” and “god always delivers / to the door where i reside,” both excerpts from track two: “meditation iii. Me_and_Gawd.”

The production on “meditation iii. Me_and_Gawd” is an intriguing mix of lo-fi and maximalism, mixing boom-bap percussions with layers of resonating strings in the backing track. Guest vocalist Black Costanza provides a lush, crooning-turned-rapping hook and bridge between verses.

Sagar Bumsweat includes a short, introspective description of the tape, describing it by saying “what i learned about growing told by me, growing.” The description is reflective of themes on the tape, indicating Sagar’s awareness that he’s a work-in-pregress. Stream the tape in full below, and check out Sagar Bumsweat’s bandcamp page for a taste of his previous projects.