TrueMendous – “The Misdiagnosis of Chyvonne Johnson” (Album Review)
Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom emcee TrueMendous making her full-length studio debut. Introducing herself in 2015 off her debut EP Whoremonal Moodswings, she continued to build momentum with the trilogy P.S. This Is Your Mother Calling began & bridged by P.S. This is Your Father Calling. The final chapter P.S. This is Your Aunty Calling eventually caught the attention of High Focus Records, who dropped her 5th EP Huh? right when the COVID-19 pandemic began. However, she’s ready to take the next step in her evolution & is ready to start the 2nd quarter of the year dissecting The Misdiagnosis of Chyvonne Johnson.
“Cause a Scene” comes out the gate with an aggressive boom bap intro talking about her being on the verge of drumming up a disturbance within the UK hip hop scene whereas “Probably Right (Too)” pens a cavernous open letter to her lover suggesting his parents are right in regards of her being too good for him. “Y” featuring Kofi Stone goes for a jazzy boom bap vibe thanks to Illinformed tackling themes of heartbreak while “Worst Child” asks if one loves themselves over a rich yet dusty beat.
As for “Selfish Behavior”, we have TrueMendous spending 9 minutes fusing boom bap as well as neo-soul & a hint of trap telling her partner that she’s coming with whenever he decides to leave her just before “You Don’t Wanna” gives off a cloudier trap vibe instrumentally so she can give some shine to the unique flow that got her a label deal 13 months earlier for 100 seconds. “You Don’t Like Me Because” takes the jazzy boom bap route for a message directed at all the people who doubted her while “Free Food” moodily talks about only being somewhere she didn’t want to be because of the complimentary nourishments.
“Crying of Laughter” begins the 2nd half with an atmospheric trap beat explaining that she’s only shedding tears of amusement because she wants to cry over the very person she has in mind while she was writing this while “Spirit & Breanna” celebrates the impression of her having no competition whatsoever. “Mood Ring” incorporates some synthesizers to talk doing people wrong or right depending on how she’s feeling while the J Dilla-inspired “Browkeee” celebrates entrepreneurship.
The sequel to “Tick the Box” jumps over a quirky beat so she can keep moving intrusively while “Emmett Till” featuring Masta Ace returns to the boom bap to talk about the system being rigged in their favor. “Viral” featuring Obi Rundo gets back on the eerie trap tip dismantling the crowd who downplays their work ethics but once “Petty You, Petty Me” cohesively talks about the concept of pettiness itself, it only makes sense for “Yvonne’s Daughter” to finish the LP with an endearing tribute to her mother.
Inspired by Lauryn Hill’s only solo effort The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, TrueMendous’ own debut album under High Focus Records offers the underground at large a complete representation of who she is by capturing every dimension of her musically. The songwriting’s a lot more fiercely heavier than both of her earlier projects were with the production honing in on the eclectic crossovers between boom bap, neo-soul, jazz rap & trap that were heard over a year ago.
Score: 7/10
