Written by Brandon George
Epic, from the Greek epos, means “word,” or “song.” It’s a conjugation of eipein, which means “say.” This is because the epic poems weren’t written, but spoken.
The basis for European literature came from people gathered around telling stories to one another. These stories were often personal, often exciting, and always political. The epic poems were creations of their time.
The latest release from Pink Navel, “EPIC,” is, in fact, an epic. Not in the vernacular of 2010 where people are suppressing giggles and groans alike from poorly compressed .jpgs of crudely drawn faces describing everyday occurrences as “le epic.”
“EPIC” is an epic in the reclamatory sense that it’s a grand journey, and in the sense that it inarguably has something to say.
This record is a half hour of unrelenting vibes and impeccable wordplay performed and recorded completely live. In homeric tradition, .dev takes the listener on a sprawling journey with the intimacy of a bedroom or a campfire.
A 404 spits beats and samples while .dev spins yarns of navigating the industry, the DIY scene, the world. They’re frustrated with the world around them and in love with their friends and themself. It’s an unsuppressable rebellious spirit unafraid to admit to fear, derision, and happiness all in the span of a few bars.
Dot dev is constantly reinforcing the spirit and themes of “EPIC” throughout. “DANNY PHANTOM” sees them resisting the trend of pretentious meekness in musicians.
Rapping, “I will never turn into a rapper self deprecate / I will never lose my great cunning and skill / To manifest a spell that could make another one ill, no,” they insist that confidence and sincerity are vital to becoming who we are meant to be.
“GRATEFUL BARD” explores the front-facing, self-serious demeanor DIY musicians put on and how they weaponize it against people like .dev who are expressing a genuine manifestation of joy. They detail a painfully palpable anecdote, saying “I have opened gigs where people tell me four songs then you go / So we have time to set up these amps and just cry / I feel my hands tough as I rhyme / Just to prove myself to a / Room full of kids who had never knew how DOOM had felt.”
“ZE FRANK” deep dives into internet nerd culture, referencing everyone from Boxy to Zaibatsu and God Hand to offering condolences to Etika and laughing along with Berleezy. In a moment that encapsulates the spirit of the album, .dev, in the midst of celebrating falling in love with the internet, truthfully declares, “Being black while liking this stuff it ain’t too easy.”
It’s sobering and reflective of the thoughts of countless Black creators who have been punished simply for loving something.
The epics were journeys. Gilgamesh gathered friends and foes in the search for immortality, Odysseus fought his way home across the seas, “The Divine Comedy” took us to hell to find love in the flames. Perhaps “EPIC” is more comparable to Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
Chained to a rock at the depths of hell for his rebellion, Milton’s revisionist Satan doesn’t suddenly go silent and refuse to continue. He rages and fights against his station, decrying the world and society that has trapped him there.
The result is resilience and rebellion and triumph in spite of the struggle. Throughout “EPIC” there’s no indication that .dev is interested in giving up. Every observation of a problem is paired with a declaration of incandescent confidence. It is that confidence that makes this album, truly, epic.
Make sure to check out “EPIC” on your preferred streaming service, and you can follow Pink Navel on Twitter @pinknavelonline. Let us know what you think of the release by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw.