Depart from Me
Encyclopedia
Depart from Me is the third studio album by American
rapper
Chris Palko, better known by his stage name Cage. Released on July 7, 2009, it is the rapper's second and final studio album on Definitive Jux
.
and distancing himself from the persona featured on Movies for the Blind
. Palko felt that since becoming a father, he no longer wished to write the same type of lyrical content as he had in the past. Palko stated that "if people can't understand that, that's good, because I don't want to make music for assholes." While Hell's Winter deals with personal change, Depart from Me deals with the difficulty of implementing these changes.
Describing the recording process, Palko remembers that El-P had been working on a track, and Palko soon thought of a hook
that would fit the song, and recorded its freestyle
lyrics on the couch. El-P and Palko later decided not to record a studio take of the track "because it just had a vibe to it. I was out of my mind. I might as well have been a blind man being walked in front of a microphone. I was just out of it."
, and instead features a guitar
and synthesizer
-oriented sound. Palko describes the album as incorporating pop
influences while keeping an "indie sensibility". Palko states that he wanted to produce music that would appeal to a larger audience. Describing the album as rap rock
, Palko states that he did not intend to produce an album that would replicate early fusion
attempts, or more recent, popular acts within the genre, but to incorporate elements of more diverse influences. According to Palko:
Palko describes the album's title track as being similar to Nine Inch Nails
because guitarist Sean Martin had been listening to the band heavily during the production of the album.
Thomas Golianopoulos, of Spin Magazine, has stated that "... [Depart From Me] is the most seamless, compelling union of hip-hop and modern rock since the two genres first collided".
, and features actor Dan Byrd
following a woman played by Scarlett Kapella
. The video was shot on location in downtown Los Angeles on February 21 and 22, and featured cameos from LaBeouf, Alex Pardee
, and Definitive Jux
artists such as El-P, Aesop Rock
, Chauncey, F. Sean Martin and Yak Ballz
.
On May 18, 2009, Palko released the extended play
I Never Knew You as a digital download
, initially for free, and then through digital stores. The EP featured four exclusive tracks and "I Never Knew You", from the album.
Depart from Me was initially announced as being scheduled for a June 29 release, but was delayed. The album was released as a digital download, and in deluxe editions on compact disc
and vinyl
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
Chris Palko, better known by his stage name Cage. Released on July 7, 2009, it is the rapper's second and final studio album on Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...
.
Lyrics
Palko describes Depart from Me as being "an exorcism of sorts", stating that it is more personal than previous albums. Palko states that the album's lyrics do not focus on social commentary, but instead deal with life and "things that people can relate to". The album continues from the lyrical direction of Hell's WinterHell's Winter
Hell's Winter is the second full-length album by American hip hop artist Cage and his first for the Definitive Jux label. It was released on September 20, 2005 and received very favorable reviews, including a spot in Rhapsody's list of "The 10 Best Albums By White Rappers".This is the first Cage...
and distancing himself from the persona featured on Movies for the Blind
Movies for the Blind
Movies for the Blind is the debut album of American rapper Cage. Released by Eastern Conference Records on August 6, 2002, the album peaked at #12 on the Heatseekers chart, #14 on the Top Independent Albums chart, #58 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #193 on the Billboard 200...
. Palko felt that since becoming a father, he no longer wished to write the same type of lyrical content as he had in the past. Palko stated that "if people can't understand that, that's good, because I don't want to make music for assholes." While Hell's Winter deals with personal change, Depart from Me deals with the difficulty of implementing these changes.
Describing the recording process, Palko remembers that El-P had been working on a track, and Palko soon thought of a hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
that would fit the song, and recorded its freestyle
Freestyle rap
Freestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...
lyrics on the couch. El-P and Palko later decided not to record a studio take of the track "because it just had a vibe to it. I was out of my mind. I might as well have been a blind man being walked in front of a microphone. I was just out of it."
Music
According to Palko, the music of Depart from Me does not rely on samplingSampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, and instead features a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-oriented sound. Palko describes the album as incorporating pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
influences while keeping an "indie sensibility". Palko states that he wanted to produce music that would appeal to a larger audience. Describing the album as rap rock
Rap rock
Rap rock is a cross-genre fusing vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock is often confused with rap metal and rapcore, subgenres that include heavy metal-oriented and hardcore punk-oriented bands, respectively....
, Palko states that he did not intend to produce an album that would replicate early fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
attempts, or more recent, popular acts within the genre, but to incorporate elements of more diverse influences. According to Palko:
"Friends of mine who make music [would say,] 'Listen to this group. It’s awesome' and instead of taking something from the music and being inspired by it, instead in hip-hop it’s 'I’m sample this.' Plagiarize and take the lyrics. [...] We were just fusing weird things that hadn’t been done before, so the blueprint to everything was to do what no one else was doing. I had no idea if any of it was going to work. In the beginning, I was terrified to release the music and then that ended up being, if I’m not terrified or at least somewhat scared to release [it], then I didn’t take any risk."
Palko describes the album's title track as being similar to Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
because guitarist Sean Martin had been listening to the band heavily during the production of the album.
Thomas Golianopoulos, of Spin Magazine, has stated that "... [Depart From Me] is the most seamless, compelling union of hip-hop and modern rock since the two genres first collided".
Release
The first music video from the album, "I Never Knew You", debuted on May 18, 2009. The video was directed by Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
, and features actor Dan Byrd
Dan Byrd
Daniel "Dan" Byrd is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes, the CW original comedy series Aliens in America, A Cinderella Story alongside Hillary Duff, ABC's Cougar Town, and the 2010 movie Easy A.-Life and career:Byrd was born in Marietta,...
following a woman played by Scarlett Kapella
Scarlett Kapella
Scarlett Kapella is an American model and writer based in Los Angeles, California. Currently represented by NEXT Model Management and CESD Talent.-Early life:...
. The video was shot on location in downtown Los Angeles on February 21 and 22, and featured cameos from LaBeouf, Alex Pardee
Alex Pardee
Alex Pardee is a freelance artist, apparel designer, and a writer born in Antioch, California, USA who is best known for illustrating The Used's album artwork...
, and Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...
artists such as El-P, Aesop Rock
Aesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...
, Chauncey, F. Sean Martin and Yak Ballz
Yak Ballz
Yak Ballz, born Yashar Zadeh is an American independent hip hop artist, who was brought up in Flushing, Queens, New York. He is one of the original members of The Weathermen. He is also a member of Cardboard City.-Early life:...
.
On May 18, 2009, Palko released the extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
I Never Knew You as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
, initially for free, and then through digital stores. The EP featured four exclusive tracks and "I Never Knew You", from the album.
Depart from Me was initially announced as being scheduled for a June 29 release, but was delayed. The album was released as a digital download, and in deluxe editions on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
.
Track listing
Musicians
- Allison Bavitz — guitar
- Philip Caivano — guitar, engineer
- Sean Martin — guitar, executive producer
- Red Bank Kids Choir — children's chorus
Additional personnel
- Aesop RockAesop RockIan Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...
— producer, backing vocals on "Strain" - El-P — producer
- Monster Man - producer
- Dave Ogilvie — mixing
- Chris Palko — executive producer
- Alex Pardee — artwork, design
- Joey "JR" Raia — mixing
- Michael Sarsfield — mastering
- Daryl Palumbo - production