more from
BackwoodzStudioz
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

I Told Bessie

by E L U C I D

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD version comes in jewel case with folder and a download to the digital version of the album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of I Told Bessie via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 500  32 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Cassette + Digital Album

    Comes with a green tint shell in norelco case with JCard featuring artwork by GENG PTP and a download to the digital version of the album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of I Told Bessie via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 500  44 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Limited Edition 12" Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    LP 140g coke bottle clear vinyl version in 12" jacket with insert and a download to the digital version of the album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of I Told Bessie via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
Spellling 03:55
2.
Bunny Chow 02:41
3.
Old Magic 02:52
4.
5.
Ghoulie 03:04
6.
Smile Lines 02:35
7.
8.
Impasse 03:15
9.
10.
Split Tongue 03:13
11.
12.
Betamax 03:01
13.

about

I Told Bessie is the third solo album from New York City rapper/producer Chaz Hall aka ELUCID. The title is a reference to his paternal grandmother, Bessie Hall, a powerful presence in his life until she passed away in 2017. From childhood afternoons running around her apartment in the Red Hook projects, to living under the same roof in Crown Heights when he was a young man, Bessie was an axis on which Hall’s family turned.

“I remember her silver afro like a halo atop her head. I remember the Westerns that were always on television in the living room. I remember. I remember her pouring early ideals of Black consciousness into me. I remember the stories and lore,” ELUCID says.

While best known as one-half of critically acclaimed duo Armand Hammer, ELUCID has also built an impressive resume of other collaborations and side projects over the past decade: Small Bills with multi-instrumentalist producer The Lasso (Mello Music), Nostrum Grocers with R.A.P. Ferreira (Ruby Yacht), Dirtee Deacon with Von Pea (Blonde Medicine), and self-produced experimental work like Valley of Grace, Bernadette, and Seership. His debut LP Save Yourself dropped in 2016 on Backwoodz Studioz and still holds up as one of the best releases in the label’s catalogue. It’s fitting that ELUCID returns to fertile ground for I Told Bessie, a record of such confidence and power that it feels like a culmination.

“I was staying with Bessie in Crown Heights, still early in my music journey—probably leading through the Progress mixtape and up to the Smash & Grab days—and she’d hear me scream rap into a closet at all hours of the day and night. We would read the newspaper and talk shit about Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD. It was a pivotal time in my life and she was an important part of that, even just by letting me live there.”

I Told Bessie features guests Pink Siifu, Quelle Chris, and billy woods. The album’s production is handled by Child Actor, The Alchemist, P.U.D.G.E., Sebb Bash, The Lasso, Kenny Segal, August Fanon, and Messiah Musik. It’s an impressive roster of producers, all of whom add something to the hard-hitting funk of this record’s ever-warping sonics. Add to that the talents of engineer Willie Green, who helped build this from the ground up. Every song was recorded, mixed, and mastered at The Greenhouse, a process that helped shape a cohesive sound from disparate sources. Executive produced by billy woods and ELUCID, I Told Bessie is dedicated to its eponymous matriarch.

“Since she left this plane, I have felt her presence and voice in my life more than ever,” says ELUCID. With this album I want to pay tribute to her and acknowledge her continuing impact on my life path.”

credits

released June 10, 2022

Mixed and Mastered by Willie Green at The GreenHouse Recording Co.
Assistant Engineer - Tevin Prince

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

E L U C I D New York

contact / help

Contact E L U C I D

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

E L U C I D recommends:

If you like E L U C I D, you may also like: