On Feb. 19, American singer and rapper known as nothing,nowhere released his latest album titled “Trauma Factory.” nothing,nowhere is commonly referred to as an alternative or emo rapper as his lyrics tend to be rather emotional, however pinpointing his exact genre is rather difficult as he pulls different elements from various genres including rap/hip-hop, alternative and indie rock. 

“Trauma Factory” is a 15 song album that had several singles released prior to the album’s initial release. The singles “nightmare” and “death” were released in early 2020 and were included on nothing,nowhere’s 2020 album “One Takes: Vol. 1,” which was recorded in one take. As the year progressed, more singles including “lights (4444),” “pretend” and “blood” featuring KennyHoopla and JUDGE was released. On Dec. 7 of 2020, nothing,nowhere announced the upcoming album “Trauma Factory” and released yet another single to go along with the album announcement, “fake friend.” Each of these singles made up five of the 15 total tracks on the album.

The title track “trauma factory” is the first one on the record. This is a spoken word track that acts as an introduction to the album. During the track, the voice speaking talks of losing someone and looking back on previous versions of yourself. The last line spoken during this introduction is “Human life is a trauma factory.”

The second song is “lights (4444),” which is about having someone toxic in your life and deciding to push forward in your own life, despite what the person holding you down says. nothing,nowhere has stated that he wanted one of the takeaways from this album to be to go with your gut intuition and to not worry about what other people’s opinions are of you. I think this song represents both of those ideas perfectly, especially with lyrics like “Everything you told me, lie to my face on the daily, I’ma go my own way.” This song definitely has rap-heavy elements and lyrics reflecting the struggle of life, including “Life getting hard, I’m just tryna make it all the way through.”

The third track is called “buck.” In this song, nothing,nowhere appears to be talking about the reality of success and fame. In the first verse, lyrics like “Feeling down, what’s it like now to be famous? Tell me right now, ‘cause you made it” could be seen in different ways. One would be that he is asking someone he knows what their life is like when reaching success in the music industry, and another view could be that this is something that his fans could say to him. During the chorus of the song, he begins referring to himself with the lyrics “I gotta keep it a buck, keep it a buck. I know they know I’m putin’ on for ‘em like yuh. I been working overtime, doin’ too much.” To me, it sounds as though he is talking about how hard he works for his music career and just how exhausting it can be. The song also refers to the impact this career has on nothing,nowhere’s mental health with the repeating lyrics “I’m not okay, I’m not alright. I need a break; I need a light.”

The fourth track is titled “love or chemistry,” which is about being confused over feelings for someone in your life. Throughout the song, nothing,nowhere sings about trying to decide whether or not he is around this person out of love or simply because of the chemistry they share, much like in the lyrics “Are we lovers or just enemies? So is it love or is it chemistry?” This song appears to have a more alternative vibe to it than some of the other tracks on the album. 

The fifth track is “exile,” which sounds very somber from the very beginning of the song. This song refers to the anxiety and depression that nothing,nowhere experiences and how it makes him feel. Lyrics like “Every time I think I’m fine, it come right back. Talking ‘bout that I’ll be fine, what do you know?” explain the never-ending war that comes with these feelings, as well as addressing the frustration of when someone downplays how you are feeling by saying something like “you’ll be fine.” This song also frequently mentions the recurring feeling of being alone.

The sixth track is called “upside down.” “Upside down” is about struggling to get over an ended relationship. nothing,nowhere raps about reminiscing the times that he spent with this person as well as thoughts of what he could have done that would have made the relationship better. The pain, frustration, and confusion with his feelings gives him the feeling of feeling upside down, hence the title of the song.

The seventh track is titled “pain place,” which features producer and singer MISOGI. To me, this song appears to lyrically be talking about needing someone to talk to or somewhere to release the overwhelming number of emotions and feelings that are trapped in your head. The lyrics make it sound as if he has something very heavy that is weighing down on his chest, and he needs to let it out in order for him to feel better. 

The eighth track is “fake friend,” which is about a friendship that is beginning to crumble and fall apart. The lyrics say “Keep your distance, losing you’s a win-win. Always gotta pretend, I don’t need a fake friend” referring to a friend that didn’t try in the friendship and was never really there. This song definitely has an alternative feel to it.

The ninth track is called “death.” This song seems to be referring to how deranged and messed up the world is. That, along with personal internal conflicts, is a lethal combination. “Death” is one of my personal favorites on the album due to the instrumental nature of the song. There are some heavier riffs in this song, including a breakdown that sounds very rock inspired. Not only does the track sound as if it was partially influenced by rock music, but nothing,nowhere makes two references to major rock bands. In the first verse, nothing,nowhere makes a direct reference to Linkin Park and their album “Hybrid Theory” by mentioning them both by name. In the second verse, the lyrics “wake up, and I’m down with the sickness” is referring to the hit song “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed.

The tenth track is titled “pretend,” which is about feeling like a burden in a relationship due to mental struggles but asking that the partner sticks around even during the tough times. Lyrics like “tell me you need me, even when you don’t” alludes to wanting to feel wanted in the relationship and not a pain or annoyance. nothing,nowhere makes yet another reference to a rock band in this song. Fans speculate the lyrics “I was falling out, boy, dead on arrival” are directly referencing Fall Out Boy and their song “Dead On Arrival.”

The eleventh track is “blood” featuring KennyHoopla and JUDGE. In this song, nothing,nowhere and KennyHoopla sing about having an addiction to someone. This person is like a drug and they recognize the fact that they know that they need to stop going back to this person, as “I know” is said frequently throughout the song. However, even though they realize this, they continue to go back as the lyrics say “And now I’m stuck, now I’ve got your blood on my hands.”

The twelfth track is “nightmare,” which is my number one favorite song by nothing,nowhere. The song is about how he feels after being rejected by someone he really liked for another boy. He sings about the pain and betrayal he feels because this person is with another guy as if he is living in a nightmare. Lyrics like “I’ve been feeling like it’s too late, too late. Every day is like a doomsday, doomsday” describe the emotions he is feeling as he continues to be hurt by this person even though they are not in his life anymore.

The thirteenth track is called “crave.” This song is about completely falling head over heels for this girl. nothing,nowhere sings about how he is always thinking of this person, how his heart races when he is around them and how he craves this girl’s attention. I think one of the sweetest and most heartwarming lines in this song is, “I remember I would dream about the better days, now I think about you like every day.”

The fourteenth track is “real,” which is another track about dealing with the struggles of depression and anxiety. One thing I particularly like about this song is that in the first verse, nothing,nowhere tells a story of when he ran into a fan in Texas at a gas station, describing this person as “a young man, wearing black Vans. Kinda looked like me from afar.” The story goes on saying how the fan had a tattoo of his logo and told him how inspiring and powerful both him and his music was. The verse ends as nothing,nowhere ends the story saying he left the gas station and headed home, thinking “I don’t want to let him down now. Tryna be strong, but I don’t know how.”

The fifteenth and final track is titled “barely bleeding.” This song is about the pain and hurt that nothing,nowhere as everyone else around is fine, but he is not. The lyrics “‘Cause all this weight, I’m bruised and beaten. You watch me break; you’re barely bleeding” allude to the feeling that everything crashes down on him, making him crumble to the ground, while those around him barely get a scratch. 

In conclusion, “Trauma Factory” by nothing,nowhere is an absolute masterpiece. Each song shows variety in sounds and vibes, and the lyrical content is very hard hitting as it ranges from light-hearted subjects to more serious ones. I highly recommend that you check out this album. No matter what kind of music you like to listen to, I am sure that you will find at least one song on “Trauma Factory” that you would enjoy.