William Haynes, stand-up comedian and host of the popular YouTube show, “People Be Like,” dropped a mixtape with no formal announcement — or any hype at all for that matter.
A few hours after Haynes uploaded an interview about the project to SoundCloud, “Tunnel Vision” was uploaded to the same account and available for the world to hear.
Haynes said that he worked on this project and recorded it over the summer, in secret, in the interest of documenting this time in his life in a way he never has before.
You can hear a variety of influences in the music, including Kanye West, Childish Gambino and Jay-Z.
There’s also still a hint of the comedy that Haynes’ fans would expect from him.
The mixtape opens with “Cosmic Tingles,” a track that is solely monologue. Granted, it’s a monologue that rambles and is only vaguely contemplative on human interaction, but intriguing nonetheless.
“We don’t listen to what people say anymore, we just get snippets/ I’ve lost friends over this version of myself, but what did I expect?”
The real rapping begins with the second track, titled “Olivia.” This track features a very Gambino-esque beat and is good for easy listening.
“Okay, I’m not trying to sound thirsty, but we should get coffee.”
If you do take a deeper listen and hear the words, the song is full of that subtle Haynes humor.
“I got the jokes like I’m Ellen.”
The song is riddled with a mixture of life observations and punchlines. It sets the stage for the rest of the mixtape much more accurately than “Cosmic Tingles.”
“Crack of Dawn” is the third track on the album and the first track to have a music video, uploaded to WilliamHaynesTV the day the album was dropped.
In this track, Haynes plays around a lot with meter and pronunciation, switching from short, fast lines to longer, steadier ones and changing the pronunciation of words to create a different sound.
“Got a girl whose brain is so big it’s often embarrassing / A living representation of all of my arrogance / Take a day with her, you’ll come straight out of your element / Smile so bright, got me feeling like George Harrison / Life so bright, can’t make a comparison / Life so right, can’t buy it with Benjamins”
Overall, “Tunnel Vision” is both a great work of hip-hop and comedy.
It’s a mixtape that has quality production but also doesn’t take itself too seriously. Haynes shows a lot of potential for improving his skills and making his music even better.
Currently, “Tunnel Vision” is on SoundCloud and Mediafire for free but is also available for purchase on iTunes for $5.46. It’s also, most recently, been added to Spotify for streaming.
