The first thing you notice when you listen to ZelooperZ’s album Van Gogh’s Left Ear is his insanely frantic, high-pitched, off-the-wall flow. ZelooperZ has an ear for classic ‘Detroit rap’ beats: loud, sometimes convoluted beats with blaring horns samples and banging 808s. Yet no matter how maximalist his beats are, the second Z starts rapping, his voice is the overwhelming center of the song. To say Z bodies the beat would be an understatement, a more apt statement would be that Z beats the absolute shit out of the beat. Vocal comparisons range from Ol’ Dirty Bastard to his mentor Danny Brown, although I would argue that Z’s off-the-wall flow is even more wild than these two rap icons.


During a full listen to VGLE, you might find yourself wanting him to pump the breaks on some of his over-the-top delivery. Song after song of this manic energy can leave you aching for a moment of calmness amidst the chaos.  However, ZelooperZ’s ambition and energy on the track is so endearing that you can’t help but root for the guy. There is a line on “Each and Every Moment” that perfectly sums up the ethos of ZelooperZ:


“When you listen to my music you like damn he really want it”


ZeeloperZ’s presence on Van Gogh’s Left Ear leaves me grasping to a intersectional comparison, albeit a slightly odd one. His music reminds me of the way Russel Westbrook plays basketball. Russel Westbrook plays with extreme energy and ambition, and watching such a raw athlete can be really inspiring. However, Westbrook is often a terrible decision maker, and his teammates and coaches frequently look like they want to kill him. That’s how I feel about Van Gogh’s Left Ear: most songs are highly energetic, animated slam dunks, yet there is the occasional brick that bangs off the side of the backboard. Van Gogh’s Left Ear is by no means a perfect album, just a really, really fun one.