Steve 'Flash' JuonIt’s been a minute since I listened to 645AR. I’m not going to lie to you and pretend I liked what he was doing. Frankly, I hated it. Me being a hater has made zero difference toward his career longevity, which gives me respect for 645AR tuning out the noise of his critics and carrying on. Frankly if you believe in your artistic vision it doesn’t matter how many people think it’s bad, no matter how big or small of a platform they have, your belief in yourself is what makes it worthwhile. I’m at least willing to concede that 645AR is a human being who believes in his art, which is more than you can say for any AI slop music generated by the prompt “Make a 645AR style album and create cover art for it.” Sadly it’s probably that easy.
“In Dat Mode” shows me that 645AR is not only a real one, he’s also one that’s evolving over time. Originally he went out of his way to deliver his vocals on every track in a squeaky helium huffing manner, but here he occasionally allows something closer to the man behind the mask to show through. That doesn’t change the fact that on songs like “Strange” he’s still delivering it with a minimal amount of intensity, just barely whispering above the beats he’s on to be heard, but his rap is tolerable.
Wait… did I just say 645AR did something I don’t hate? Well it’s true. Unfortunately he killed any positive feelings I had one track later with “U W@ U 3AT,” which I can just barely understand as “you what you eat” listening to the track. Unfortunately he brought back his Alvin and the Chipmunks delivery for the song and despite it only being 90 seconds long it still felt like somebody dragging their nails across a blackboard.
It’s vexing to listen to “In Dat Mode” and hear brief moments of lucidity amidst his see of inanity. Can the real 645AR please stand up? If he was in the studio with a good producer, someone who could give him a banger beat and turn his vocals up a notch, maybe he could be more than a novelty rap act. Said producer would also have to firmly tell him “NO” when he wants to do the squeaky shit. That wouldn’t really be 645AR though would it? I’m reluctantly forced to admit that if he changed his whole style to something I’d enjoy he wouldn’t be the 6 his fans (yes he has them) know and love. This is just how it has to be.