COMPLAINT

“And if the world breaks your legs, you go and beat it with your crutch.”

This is just one of many imaginative lyrical lines George Watsky has written. Known

mononymously by his last name, Watsky is an alternative rap and hip-hop artist that initially

found fame on YouTube. While focusing on the often-bleak aspects of life, Watsky has a

trademark way of expressing self-confidence and reassurance. This line specifically, taken from

his song “Seizure Boy,” references the bullying he faced growing up suffering from frequent

seizures in school. He twists the hardship—the world “breaking your legs”—into a call to

action—beating the world back.

He has been highly active over the past decade, releasing seven albums in total: Watsky;

Cardboard Castles; All You Can Do; x Infinity; COMPLAINT; PLACEMENT; and INTENTION.

He takes a less mainstream approach to his music, much of it being a combination of spoken

word and rap combo, with topics ranging from gun violence to mental health to sex. Growing up,

he was also bullied heavily for having a lisp and references this in his music. He is outspoken

about his social hardships being the driving forces behind his passion for writing.

COMPLAINT was released in 2019 and is a personal favorite of mine because it signals

the emergence of an edgier style. There is a wide range of musical style represented in the

album’s nine songs, from heavy nihilistic beats to celestial-sounding proposals of

companionship.

The first song on the album, “Welcome to the Family” sets the tone for a mismatched and

experimental set of songs. It opens with a simple piano melody that is rather fast paced. The

line’s pitch jumps around, resulting in a somewhat unsettling sound. Each note has a slight
twinge at the end as if it is pained. After a few seconds, it falls into a series of slow chords that

set the scene for the first verse.

“Hello, hello, hello, hello / It's a motherfucking pleasure / No pressure, but would you

like to blow my mind / And move too fast and plan our perfect lives together?”

These spoken-word lyrics slowly morph into singing while the piano melody continues in

the background. Watsky uses many layered pitches of his own voice to create an angelic-

sounding chorus for the first few words of each following verse. The end of each line is echoed

by an ultra-low distorted voice that serves as added backbeat. After each verse there is a sudden

break, where a hip-hop style backbeat is added. This creates an upbeat tone as he repeats the

church-choir chorus— “Welcome to the family” — three times.

It is roughly in the middle where he speaks the line “But I think every family is a

butterfly / You know, pretty from afar, pretty gross up close”. Although a subtle line at first

listen, statements like this illustrate the complex yet blunt style he uses to comment on emotional

aspects of life.

The song enters a final phase with the entrance of a rap verse that works in conjunction

with the continuing piano melody. The song somehow encompasses a strongly ethereal feeling

despite being a mashup of many paces and rhythms that release into one another.

Finally, it closes with repetitions of the line “You deserve love” in angelic tones. Behind

this is a quiet echoing of “Welcome to the family” performed in a tone that can only be described

as someone nearly falling off a cliff before barely catching themselves.

Opening with a catchy and upbeat guitar melody, “Mean Ass Drunk” is the album’s fifth song.

Despite the captivating beat, the lyrics speak about someone leaving an abusive alcoholic

girlfriend.

“You say it's your thing to be honest / Like it's kind of this token of pride / Well, to be

honest, you're kind of a goddess / But being with you kind of kills me inside / You want

me to explain it, well / It's sort of this look in your eye / Like you're cooking an egg on

the hood of your car 'cause you looked at it hard / But my heart is the egg and you're

watching it fry / I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna lie, I am gonna cry.”

This song is a distinctly different genre from the rest of the album, which is otherwise

edgy and far-off. The content itself is also much more aggressive towards a specific person or

event, rather than being about his general outlook on life. The song’s lively cadence combined

with his acerbic tone paints a picture of someone who is speaking with newfound sternness and

authority. His personal growth is evident in his clear-cut lyricism—he's fed up and will not stand

for this treatment anymore.

The seventh song on this album, “Feels Alright,” opens with a heartbeat-patterned sound

that can best be described as the muffled sound of a car’s doors unlocking. It is very staccato and

akin to a repetitive mechanical movement. When the vocals enter, there is an air of cockiness, of

teen angst that speaks to you condescendingly. A fried, gritty-sounding guitar melody joins in a

way that can only be described as “sick”. Between the opening lines and the first verse, a

descending guitar line takes the lead, simulating a falling feeling. It encompasses a trippy, harsh

tone that feels like it’s talking down to you.

 “How does it feel?” his voice states in multiple echoing pitches. Some bite, while others

sound more innocent, adding to the confusing nature of the song’s sound. The guitar line starts

losing its voice too; suddenly it’s a more synthetic nails-on-a-chalkboard tone, and it’s like you

can feel your string of consciousness melting alongside the musical narrative. It perfectly

encompasses what “Welcome to the Family” and the album art itself promises: a distorted, dark,

angsty vibe.

Then, the music abruptly breaks and becomes a soft, plucked guitar line that sounds like

an entirely new song has begun—so much so that when I listened to it the first time, I checked

my phone to understand exactly what was going on. The song feels like a drug trip in its entirety

despite targeting just one sense—your ears alone are taken on an emotional roller coaster.

Adding to the strangeness of this song are the lyrics “Is my heart ripped out or just

shriveled up? / Add water and it's back like a brine shrimp / Welcome to your life, kid, rock

bottom shithole / Grab a shovel, dig down, try to hit coal.” In a direct contradiction to

encouraging expressions of “the sky’s the limit” or “try to hit gold”, Watsky is expressing the

oft-bleakness of life.

COMPLAINT’s eighth song, “Limo 4 Emos” describes Watsky’s desire for emotional

connection. In this context, his “Limo for emos” describes him driving a figurative “limo” that

he can “pick you up” in—a metaphor for acting as an emotional “pick-me-up" and as a

representation of support by offering a ride.

The song opens with repetition of the phrase “Limo for emos” that takes on a distorted,

high-pitched voice. A repeating “I’ll pick you up” is added to this build up before the music

abruptly halts, becoming a bare bones few moments. Single beats are separated by stretches of
space, emphasizing only the first beat of each bar. As the main chorus begins, these beats

continue through the song with heavy reverberations. Much like “Welcome to the Family,” some

parts of each verse are sung as an angelic chorus of voices. The song encompasses a soft and

pleasant tone that aligns with its lyrical content—his innocent desire to provide companionship.

New sounds are added as the song builds, including a ticking hip-hop style beat that creates a

comfortable rhythm. Following his usual random style, the music breaks between verses to allow

for further repetition of “I’ll pick you up” and “Limo for emos” in varying echoed pitches, this

time more muffled.

As he lets go of an ex-partner, his lyrics express an openness toward providing emotional

support to someone new. In one verse, he speaks to an ambiguous person, asking for their

attention: "You got force like Joan of Arc / And he falls short like Bonaparte / And you deserve

greater, I know I’m no savior / But I’m here right now, so let’s go.”

Watsky’s musical style is utterly unique, taking you on twists and turns as he creates a

commentary on his version of the human experience. Listening to an album of his for the first

time, especially one as aurally diverse as COMPLAINT, keeps you on your toes. Just when you

think you have the song figured out, its rhythm and sound changes entirely—his music simply

never gets boring. There is always more meaning to divulge from the lyrics if you listen closely

enough, or more musical elements layered into the background. His clear dedication to music—

and most importantly, staying true to his own style—despite the hardships he has faced is truly

inspiring and evokes a sense of hope within me.