Released: 2024 • Features: Clypto, Rim, Greensllime
“Carbon Monoxide” by IAMGAWD, featuring Clypto, Rim, and Greensllime is an uncompromising, hard-hitting sonic assault that takes no prisoners. Packed with vivid imagery and layered references, this track provides a stark and sobering look into urban life in all its cruel contrasts – its survival tactics, street codes, and harsh realities. The lyrical prowess is front and center as it takes us on a journey through the lens of a seasoned street soldier, dealing with the raw reality of the underworld.
Touching on the first verse, IAMGAWD sets the scene and tone, speaking directly about growing up in an environment where violence is an everyday occurrence, “I’m from where savage fellas blast Berettas/After cash and cheddars way before covid”. Here, the MC is reasoning that such fierce street politics have been running rampant way before the complications of the pandemic came and forced people into a survival mode. The rapper then goes on to take a jab at the saturation of the rap industry, criticising the lack of fundamental skills and depth in modern popular rap, “Yet they lack the skill niggas don’t really rap for real”.
In the following part of the song, IAMGAWD likens himself to a lethal dose of toxic gas to his detractors, “Niggas say they want smoke bitch I’m carbon monoxide”. Essentially, he’s asserting that his opponents can’t handle the degree of his lethal lyrical game. In his mind, his enemies request confrontation, but aren’t aware of the harm they’re asking for.
Possibly the most illustrative verse in this piece is when IAMGAWD references the underestimation he experiences from his competitors: “You on a collision course with GAWD now you begging Jesus to grab the wheel”. Here, IAMGAWD is at his most self-assured. He suggests the opposition is so overwhelmed that they will seek spiritual intervention to evade the inevitable defeat.
Following IAMGAWD, Clypto and Rim maintain the energy, delivering hard-hitting verses that tout their skills, experience, and the surreal aspects of the street life. They refuse to shy away from the realities of violence and illegal activities, representing their experiences unfiltered and unadulterated with lines like, “I was famished the plug pitched forked like the star of David”.
Greensllime, being the last guest on the track, provides a chilling conclusion to the song with verses that delve into darker themes: “No disguise cop the 45 fuck them kids/Blaze at the whip I hope your shorty die”. Expressing the cruelty of the street with brutal frankness, he paints an uncompromising picture of the struggle and pain that forms the gritty reality of their lyrics.
Ultimately, “Carbon Monoxide” is an exploration of IAMGAWD and his featured artists’ confrontation with survival, dominance, and perseverance in an unforgiving environment. It’s a stark representation of the reality they’ve lived and continue to navigate. If you’re looking for bubblegum rap, you won’t find it here. “Carbon Monoxide” is a fierce wake-up call, a hard truth served raw and unflinchingly real.
