Patagonist Destroys The Competition With “Sweet 23”
Updated: May 2
My oh my, the rapper known as Patagonist destroyed all of my expectations and raised the bar another ten levels. Illinois is in good hands with an artist like Patagonist, and we’re only just scratching the surface of this talented individual. Bars, flows, and cadence, this young man has it all. The 25-year-old rapper from Hazel Crest, a suburb of Chicago, uses his unique style to throw most of todays rappers out of the water. His blend of quirky and New Age sounds, with hints of East and West Coast influences helps him develop tracks such as “Sweet 23.” Patagonist receives inspiration from boom bap and trap, which leads to his vast musical range. He shared with us that he looks at artists like Kanye West, Tyler The Creator, JID and Kendrick Lamar as similar sounds to what he’s trying to create.
With the use of his high pitch voice, Patagonist is able to deliver life and energy with his bars, creating a vibe while also conceptualizing his music, making it easy to visualize. Also known as Ptag, he began his music career in 2013 by dropping remixes on SoundCloud, but didn’t drop his first single until 2018’s “Hi” followed by “Chi City Blues.” With the release of his debut project “Naker” in June 2020, Patagonist saw his popularity grow. He also released “Fate” and “Ye Is The Master” which both have gone viral, attaining global success. “Sweet 23” is following the trend of virality and has that wow factor all artists look for.
Produced by a team consisting of Jay Elleven, Bailey Daniel, Davy’s Archive and Solo Otto, “Sweet 23” is nine minutes of pure story telling with enough flow variations and beat complexity to keep listeners engaged and wanting more. In between verses, Patagonist incorporated skits with voice actors Casandra, Jd, Jbreaux and Hu’ghniq. Jbreaux also did work as a featured artist on this track, serving the audience with some background vocals on the first beat, rapping on the second, and singing the hook on the third. Engineering the track was Dro and D’Angelo, finally completing the full team of “Sweet 23.” With each beat and style variation on the track, you can clearly hear Patagonist’s inspirations.
The liveliness he is able to portray with each bar, all while maintaining witty punches and complex structures, is something to fawn over. When asked about the inspiration behind “Sweet 23,” Ptag told us that the inspiration of the song was pulled from different places. “Tyler The Creator, Kendrick Lamar and Busta Rhymes played a big inspiration on this song. Tyler The Creator’s ability to be animated inspired me, Kendrick Lamar’s ability to rap from different perspectives and showcase different flows. Busta Rhymes inspired my jazz feel and the flow I used when I said “seen a n***a video, not no other audio.” With such a humble approach and modest appreciation for those who have already found success in the game, it comes to no surprise how Patagonist has already garnered such a deep fanbase.
Yet, with many artists, there are bound to be roadblocks. We asked Patagonist about barriers he had to overcome for the release of “Sweet 23,” he told us “a couple instances of people not being able to do the skits or some people asking me for positive parts when the song is centered around negative people. Another conflict of getting people into the studio.” Luckily, no roadblock was large enough to prevent the release of this amazing track. With the focus being around perspective and the lack of accountability within some people, Patagonist is looking to make an imprint with “Sweet 23” and we can’t wait to hear more from him.