Che Lingo genre bends in a way which demonstrates the ebbs and flows of life and his struggles with mental health in second studio album, “Coming Up For Air”

(Trigger warning: Eating Disorder/Mental Health- Depression)

South London artist Che Lingo released his debut album in 2020, titled The Worst Generation, the project received critical acclaim and his songs featured in Top Boy, FIFA 21 and 22 and more. His second studio album, Coming Up For Air was released on April 8^th with features from the likes of Kojey Radical and Queen.

Lingo states that the album “is an intimate and personal look at myself and the people like me who find it hard to see themselves sometimes, the album in my own way is to let people know that they aren’t alone in these trials.” After opening up about his struggles with an eating disorder and depression, it is no surprise that this album draws on the grime influences of using such raw lyricism to communicate the daily battles faced by the artist.

The album opens with a brief airy and atmospheric piece, similar to the likes of Alt-J or M83 with longer tracks following this beautiful melodic introduction. These alternative styles are integrated throughout the album, however, in later songs they often provide starting points for exceptional layering. The first half of the album are solo pieces, predominantly delving into his struggles with mental health. Whereas the final tracks all feature other artists, which offer assorted styles and melodies.

The second track, ‘Jaded’ uses a spoken word style of rap, combined with these atmospheric beats which work beautifully together. Lingo strips this back towards the end, providing darker lyricism and draws our focus back to the story in which he is telling. I could not help but be reminded of artists such as Lausse the Cat in this track, due to the way in which Lingo tells a story and completely breaks it down. I felt this track, like many others on this album, was just phenomenal.

Later in the album, ‘Lowkey’ offers a complete change in tone; you finish the track wanting to take a breath after the heavy beats, insane lyricism, and complete defiance of any boundaries of UK rap. He draws from more alternative styles to create a punchy instrumental, which is partnered with deep and dark vocals.

The song which follows offers us a unique perspective, drawing more from hip-hop, ‘Fighting Giants’ mentions his eating disorder. I like the way he states he ‘fought with giants for [his] peace’ which makes references to childhood story narratives, suggesting that these issues run deeper than just struggles that only appear in adulthood (financial burdens etc.), and instead, can be traced back to younger years, especially systematic ones.

The biggest track on the album is “My Radio” a collaboration with Queen and Roger Taylor. Though this song is not personally one of my favourites, the story behind it is an emotional one. Lingo said that taking “Freddie Mercury’s (respective, original) vocal to another place in the Hip-Hop spectrum is a testament to how righteous it can be to work with artists from different generations.” The track is a dedication to Lingo’s late grandmother.

Overall, the album is a powerful representation of daily struggles and disorders which affect every aspect of life and bleed into our functioning. The extensive genre-bending is reflective of how life is constantly changing, and we exist outside of set boundaries and limits.

Che Lingo is due to play at Hyde Park Book Club on April 27th.

Coming Up For Air is out now.