LIGHTSPEED, by Elijah Kessler

LIGHTSPEED

by Elijah Kessler

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1.	BENZO 02:37	lyrics	buy track
All my friends though they on benzo anti-depression with drugs I’m like, hello wake up, hello you’ve been losing all your love Super mellow color yellow but it’s happening too much At the doctors they don’t sell those Eating capsules during lunch ooh ooh everyday man your memory lose oh oh who the fuck is you going back to? ooh ooh all those memories that you finna lose ooh ooh i just hope that your coming back soon at your house healing yourself smoking mary jane on a plane couch, no decorations clothes on the drawers hanging out tweeting ‘bout every single thing that you think about in your brain when it comes with pain you know that it’s doubt from the mouth of the drugs controlling you you burning out you're sober now and the memories you had can not be found but it’s so fun when your fucked up oh yeah and it’s so numb even if you fucking up, yeah and the masturbation it feels like you fucking sluts, yeah too much contemplation always just be hurting us, yeah All my friends on drugs all my friends gone I don’t even know why i'm making damn songs i be writing by myself so selfish all the cries out for help and i ain’t helping All my friends though they on benzo anti-depression with drugs I’m like, hello wake up, hello you’ve been losing all your love Super mellow color yellow but it’s happening too much At the doctors they don’t sell those Eating capsules during lunch
2.	DOLLA 02:25	lyrics	buy track
Too much drama for Elijah gotta lay low Been on a kill streak calling in the pave low Shawty tryna kill me ain't doing what I say so Maybe that’s what I need baby come back home, Need a real mean chick always on attack mode Look up to the sky and I pray and I wish for it Light streaking all across it as I watch the colors glow Woah, woah Like aurora borealis never seen you shine before, Might have to write down your number now that I know Ain't smoking weed but you giving me a high soul, Blush on my cheeks like I was back in high school If I wanna keep you honey know I gotta keep my money more I don’t like going out i know you a sunny hoe But the feeling on my face makes me think it’s fun though I think we could have fun though Cuz we started out as friends now we’re much more Riding round in a Benz in rodeo I could drive it fast while you take it slow Check the time I ain’t know where the time go Stay moving forward keep the past as a side note My main girl not side hoe that’s what i’m saying love outweighs maximum pain love outweighs maximum pain do it again i wanna do it again i wanna do it again that’s what i’m saying, when you go back where you came when you go back where you came love is the same swear that my love is the same i swear that my love is the same Like aurora borealis never seen you shine before, Might have to write down your number now that I know Ain't smoking weed but you giving me a high soul, Blush on my cheeks like I was back in high school If I wanna keep you honey know I gotta keep my money more I don’t like going out i know you a sunny hoe But the feeling on my face makes me think it’s fun though I think we could have fun though Cuz we started out as friends now we’re much more Riding round in a Benz in rodeo I could drive it fast while you ride slow Check the time I ain’t know where the time go Stay moving forward keep the past as a side note My main girl not side hoe that’s what i’m saying love outweighs maximum pain love outweighs maximum pain do it again i wanna do it again i wanna do it again that’s what i’m saying, when you go back where you came when you go back where you came love is the same swear that my love is the same i swear that my love is the same
3.	ZEISS (feat. Toro y Moi) 02:31	lyrics	buy track
Toro y Moi: Why you gotta go and make me do that? I woke up feelin’ like I need it sooner Now I’m goin’ round buying ubers Now I’m feelin’ like a loser I know what tonight’s like Keep my distance like just right So on the choice, decide How’d I end up way up here like Elijah Kessler: Red rum written on the mirror like a vandal Eyeliner melting on her face it's from the candle She been drinking way too much the case’s empty handles never said i’m holy but i got on jesus sandals Need a bitch to hold me but this bitch is from los angeles know that that you know me but your crew is looking scandalous elijah kessler, tony take a step if you can handle us Told her she could blow me cuz my girlfriend couldn't handle it Skinny thighs, asking for a blanket in the backseat water gun, if you wanna spray then you should ask me what is fun? fucking all these bitches hella taxing chaka khan, you can hear the soul inside my rap-sing new definition for the things that i do cuz every time they ask me i can't say what i do i just rap in the stu, i just sing in the stu man, i do every fuckin’ damn thing in the stu! Toro y Moi: I’m still tryna find that juice, man Feels pretty nice, man From the inside out, man Queue the next car
4.	RED WINE 02:18	lyrics	buy track
White shoes, red wine Two bitches at the same time Stupid bitches wanna face time Get your money up, then you can face mine I’m Elijah Phoenix, got a great mind I can talk to you and have you intertwined Make you fall in love till you die Master of manipulation, I can hypnotize Hips and your thighs and your lips and your eyes Elijah take pride when he sees his enterprise I can enter flights with the population, I I need privacy, time to hide, public eye I can’t publicize where I’m at, where I lie She text me that she love me she a gnat, That’s a lie I'm so isolated like the catcher in the rye Way down deep inside my thoughts catch me by surprise White shoes, red wine Two bitches at the same time Stupid bitches wanna face time Get your money up then you can face mine I’m Elijah Phoenix got a great mind I can talk to you and have you intertwined Make you fall in love till you die Master of manipulation I can hypnotize Tire marks on the road fire starts in my home In the California hills I do what you can’t condone They say California kills at least if you got a soul Don’t chase cheese chase the chicken You can crack a wishbone Imma shoot, Rambo For the dreams, and the gold And the team, and the growth And the teeth, and the modes on the car, that I drove Or i'll drive, in the future I won’t try, for a suitor If I cry, imma sue me Fuck the sky, kama sutra If you sly, karma do you Play with time, like a looper It's a crime, that I knew you Didn’t mind, I was stupid It was fine,I was foolish I’m refined and I’m ruthless And i'll die for that mula White shoes, red wine Two bitches at the same time Stupid bitches wanna face time Get your money up, then you can face mine I’m Elijah Phoenix, got a great mind I can talk to you and have you intertwined Make you fall in love till you die Master of manipulation, I can hypnotize
5.	VIDEO GAME LOVER 02:23	lyrics	buy track
Just like I want it big bumper she got big titties too video game lover imma be in too much pain if I can’t cuff her, I’m a work all of my days just to get her number Woah, woah video game lover Press the keys begging please I just need to touch her I don’t see why you and me can’t become a thing, uh That’s the thing and really that’s the thing you already mine and that’s my biggest achievement You my queen baby take out my sword and unsheathe it Any villains in the area I defeat them Any suitors come and talk to me I swear I wanna meet ya Instagram delete ya Video game lover you can’t find her she not real I’m insane brother on my honor I’m a beat ya I trust her and love her I love her In her code she my video game lover Just like I want it big bumper she got big titties too video game lover imma be in too much pain if I can’t cuff her, I’m a work all of my days just to get her number Woah, woah video game lover Press the keys begging please I just need to touch her I don’t see why you and me can’t become a thing, uh That’s the thing and really that’s the thing Video game lover can we fall in love w each other video game lover can we fall in love with each other i been on the road so much lately i been far away from the console station need a therapist for my consultation am i elijah phoenix or am i still mason momma say i’m genius but i think i’m basic man, i can’t face this all this heavy weight, it hits and it tastes like a punch to the face can i change if i change am i gonna stay the same save the game but i’m coming back still can’t save the game now i’m stuck in a spot where i already played it already spayed it and beat it and maced it now i gotta do it all again i’m bracing
6.	SINGING AND DRINKING 02:43	lyrics	buy track
Every time I make progress I have a mental interrogation process I treat myself like an inanimate object All the damage that I’ve caused I start to obsess Where you going? You can’t leave the house and hang out with your friends Just slow down Pick the bottle up and drink another round Pick the doobie up and hit another pound Eyes are droopier they falling to the ground Getting hard to breathe it's feeling like you drowned It’s a curse because I broke too many vows So imma keep OOOOOHHH, OOOOH , OOOOH Imma keep OOOOOOOOH Yeah, yeah, yeah imma keep singing and drinking Oh, god I can see where it was the top Spirits in my ear don’t stop That’s why mom was so religious oh, god 12 steps from gates of heaven oh, god Thinking AA what if there is no god? Guess i'll still pray for an innocent cause What did Frank say? There’s no church when its wild And I was just a child Sitting in my room it’s getting loud Now I’m sitting in my room it's filled with clouds So imma keep OOOOOHHH, OOOOH , OOOOH Imma keep OOOOOOOOH Yeah, yeah, yeah imma keep singing and drinking
7.	PASTEL 02:18	lyrics	buy track
i’m tied up now like a anchor when they ask me what i was i say a singer it’s been so good i hated single but i’d pay for a pass if i could mingle close your eyes close your eyes Cover your ears too cuz i’d be so fucking mad if i could hear you you with your girlfriends what you sayin’? probably telling them all about your hatred prolly popping off with clothes real dangerous she a hoe, she a skank why we dating? all these thoughts in my head that i’m saying she would drop in a grave if i say ‘em i got phone call from your momma causing drama you must wanna cause problems dating daughters you ain’t even got a job man funding father Mase, I thought you way smarter not a pauper babe, i’m tryna play harder but regardless i’m sorry i say i’m sorry you say i’m hardly aren’t we getting farther from something lovely? love me you say love me it’s getting harder if i were you i’d probably say don’t worry ‘bout me i gotta hella scars that some people can’t see yeah i made it far but at night i can’t breathe sometimes i can’t love sometimes i can’t leave Sucking on your blood like a mu’fucking leech if we fuck there’s a chance i might creep gotta crush and a secret i can’t keep put ‘i love you’ in the text box and i’m clicking on delete i’m tied up now like a anchor when they ask me what i was i say a singer it’s been so good i hated single but i’d pay for a pass if i could mingle close your eyes close your eyes Cover your ears too cuz i’d be so fucking mad if i could hear you you with your girlfriends what you sayin’? probably telling them all about your hatred i’m tied up now like a anchor when they ask me what i was i say a singer it’s been so good i hated single but i’d pay for a pass if i could mingle
8.	PLANE TICKET 01:26	lyrics	buy track
Please just look me in the eyes I know that you’d believe me if you saw me here crying I feel so ugly looking in the mirror in the morning and the night Sometimes I feel so special when I’m getting so high So high So high Emotions overwhelm my life This hollow feeling I have over-simple things I can’t get it right I got it wrong Now i'm tryna get it right I got it wrong I’m sorry mom But it was taking too long All night All night All night I was waiting for the light All night I was waiting for the light It seems like the night time’s been my whole entire fucking life Speaking of it where it go Love I can’t find the time And my money can’t buy A plane ticket for a visit what I’m missing is just another kiss goodbye
9.	LIGHTSPEED 01:42	lyrics	buy track
Going lightspeed downtown with nobody around windows down and your feeling all alone So much doubt, yeah there’s no way out, And your still just sitting on your phone Can you feel dark creeping? Can you see the dark seep in? Change right now I need change right now, It's been 22 years I’m the same like how? And my momma prolly think that I’m insane right now And the karma prolly want me in a cage by now, Oh, god oh, someone Tell me why I’m doing wrong to my loved ones Tell me why he thought I must’ve been the wrong son Tell me why the pain is feeling like a shotgun Boob boom blast Woah woah ah I don’t wanna hear it when you tell me like that I been fearing hearing about the feelings that I had Can you feel dark creeping? Can you see the dark seep in?

about

Elijah Kessler was just a teenager when the first sessions for what would eventually turn into LIGHTSPEED took place. In some ways, he had begun developing his distinct style of melodic rap from the time he was a kid. But it wasn’t until he began working with Instupendo during his high school years that he began releasing music publicly. At the time, that meant uploading songs to Soundcloud from his boarding school dorm room. The first real turning point in Elijah’s career happened when one of these songs caught the ear of Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi, and the two struck up a correspondence. A trip to California and a feature on Toro y Moi’s Soul Trash mixtape quickly followed, and the collaboration was up and running.

With the idea of an album planted in his head, Elijah set up a new makeshift studio in his basement. He got into a rhythm of quickly recording demos and sending them off to Bear, who would refine and transform them through his own filter until they became something entirely new. The two collaborators found themselves propelled forward by their own excitement, as the whole proved to be greater than the sum of its parts. A distinct sound was emerging, that blended Elijah’s immediacy and knack for melody with Bear’s sonic palette. Over the next several years, the project continued to grow as notable producers Nosaj Thing and Instupendo became involved in the project. In person sessions between Miami, New York, and San Francisco followed, and the album began to take shape.

One of Elijah’s important early influences was the online community of relatively obscure and lo-fi “Soundcloud Rap”. But he notably cites movie soundtracks as an equally important influence. As he says, “What I like about soundtracks is the worldbuilding element. Even though what I do is completely different, in a way that inspired me to reach for my own aspirations.”

After moving to Miami and settling into life as a college student, Elijah found that his life was providing him with plenty of opportunities to say what he was feeling. As someone who had been writing rhymes about his own life since the age of ten, the everyday struggles of these years were particularly inspiring. During this time, amidst the backdrop of an isolating pandemic, Elijah could only watch as laughter and emotion amongst his cohort were replaced by a pharmaceutically driven monotone. His reflection on this shift in his world, “BENZO”, hides its dark subject matter in a super upbeat and catchy melody. On “SINGING AND DRINKING”, Kessler confronts his own complicated feelings of guilt surrounding alcohol abuse. Throughout all of this work, we hear a voice oscillating between supreme confidence and humbling insecurity, a theme that’s made explicit on the tracks “LIGHTSPEED” and “ZEISS (ft. Toro y Moi)”.

Having been started as flashes of inspiration captured on sock mics in a basement, and subsequently refined by several notable producers, LIGHTSPEED is at once both raw and refined; both immediate and considered. The resulting sonic complexities are the perfect reflection of the content contained therein–the tumultuous process of a young man coming into his own, and an artist finding his voice.

credits

released April 14, 2023

Written by Mason Kessler
Produced by Chaz Bear
Additional Production on “ZEISS” and “PASTEL” by Nosaj Thing
Additional Production on “DOLLA,” “PLANE TICKET” and “LIGHTSPEED” by Instupendo
Vocals on “ZEISS” by Toro y Moi
Mixed by Maryam Qudus
Mastered by Joe Lambert
Art by Company Studio