EP REVIEW: Princeless Princess – Delilah Bon
Alt-rap artist, DELILAH BON, is back with her newest EP, Princeless Princess. Released ahead of her tour starting next month, the EP itself is somewhat a concept record around the theme of re-writing fairytales where, in the traditional stories, the prince saves the damsel in distress, yet this time around DELILAH has challenged those stereotypes and declared that women no longer need a ‘Prince Charming’ to have meaning in their lives.
Across all four tracks on the EP, we can hear DELILAH BON’s signature sound that blends punk and nu-metal with hip-hop, creating something that she’s dubbed as ‘brat-punk’ thanks to her unapologetic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics that covering modern day issues regarding misogyny, prejudice against the LGBTQ+ individuals, and the callout of incels and toxic masculinity. Essentially a champion for those whose voices are trying to be silenced by others.
The EP opens with the title track, where the first thing we hear is the sound of a horse running through the forest before the mocking spoken word rendition of the famous line “Rapunzel, let down your hair,” as an electronic beat builds in the background. Yet rather than going into the traditional fairytale, we instead hear someone spit and then everything kicks off as DELILAH BON begins her verse where little time is wasted on diving into issues regarding how women are expected to be traditional and dependent on men. Well, no more DELILAH proclaims are she gets right into the meat of the issue where no one should rely on others to find meaning in their own lives, as well as a brutal callout of the traditional nice guy who will act sweet at first, but then turn emotional abusive once told no.
This dynamic continues across the next three tracks, yet don’t expect each song to sound the same, rather that they take on their identity, or rather fairytale retelling. Dragon, that opens with a piano blended with an electronic production before kick-off, serves as response to those who take issue with BON’s musical themes, as well as calling those who called her “weird” as a child because she’d rather go off with a dragon than a prince; Cinderella serves as a re-telling of the titular character, with ensemble of other character voices, continues to mock those who take issue with what she stands for. And then Bush is silly, yet fun, commentary of how women are expected to act and look a certain way, but rather than that DELILAH encourages us to go against that as, in her own words, “I wanna see bush”.
Princeless Princess is everything DELILAH BON stands for and more, and despite it only being four songs long, everything feels larger than life.
Rating: 8/10
Princeless Princess is set for release on September 26th via self-release.
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