Rap-rock is a tough genre to crack. When it’s good, it feels groundbreaking, even after all these years, and reaffirms your belief in alternative music. When it’s bad, it’s embarrassing. In recent years, there’s been a rise in British artists mixing heavier music with grime and hip-hop, with Bob Vylan, Nova Twins and Kid Bookie among those showing the world how it’s done. But still, it’s with some hesitation that you approach a new album in the genre. Thankfully, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, for Delilah Bon's second album, Evil, Hate Filled Female, is one worth celebrating.
Lauren Tate's experiences of misogyny and rape culture in the music industry while fronting Barnsley feminist punk band Hands off Gretel inspired her alter-ego solo project. And with Evil, Hate Filled Female she's fighting back, detailing a series of revenge fantasies which give a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘Slay, queen!’
Delilah Bon’s interpretation of rap rock is not a simple fusion of trap beats and electric guitars. Evil, Hate Filled Female is chaotic and innovative, with elements of gothic, dark cabaret transforming opener Hey World, Drop Dead Delilah and the title track into unhinged, punk circuses.
Maverick and The Internet are more traditionally heavy songs showing off Tate's metal influences. On the former, she channels her rap-rock peers Nova Twins as she screams out “I will not be treated like shit” with searing emotion. On the latter, there are hints of Eminem (minus his recent shock-value transphobia) as she rails against the hateful cesspool of social media.
On the album's closing track, the lavish Committed A Crime, she returns to theatrical extravagance, this time taking on the personas of her haters, critics, and concerned parents as she stands trial for her provocative lyricism. It’s campy and ironic, reminiscent of Emilie Autumn’s high-concept goth operas, highlighting the skill and finesse of her rock and rap sides in equal parts.
The strongest moments of the album are also the most violent. Freak Alert is a tour de force where she acts out every woman’s revenge fantasy against the all-too-familiar bus/supermarket/street weirdo. What’s so magical here is that it will invoke a different memory in everyone who listens: the catcalls, the indecent exposure, that one creep who reached out and stroked your hand on the street. Delilah Bon gives a voice to those too scared to speak up. In reality, she puts in her earphones and averts her eyes like the rest of us, but her wildest fantasy sees her team up with the sweet old lady at the supermarket to mutilate a flasher.
An eclectic map of inspirations guides the record. We jump from Eminem’s in-your-face lyricism to P!nk’s pop rebellion, with a brief stop at ‘00s R&B girl groups like The Pussycat Dolls and Destiny’s Child on My Girlz and Epstein. And yet Evil, Hate Filled Female is still cohesive. It borrows from past legends without ripping off the greats, and the sound is completely and distinctively Delilah Bon from start to finish.
Evil, Hate Filled Female is a musically exceptional, vitally cathartic album that rarely falters, showcasing Delilah Bon as a welcome disruptor on the UK alternative scene. With her new album, she creates a space where women and marginalised communities can purge their anger and get empowered. Long live the Evil, Hate Filled Female.
