HEwas

HEwas takes another step higher on the indie totem pole with the release of his effortless sounding collaboration with Afroman "Wholething." Following the release of his conventional but catchy single "Lemon", HEwas embraces the somewhat scummy nature of the character by detailing his desire to remain casual with someone who wants something a little more steady. It's funny that the single cover is a cartoon depiction of the duo considering how much it reflects how juvenile the two come across in the song. 

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iamhewas/?hl=en 

HEwas especially comes across as the kind of guy sending plenty of mixed signals, but still finding a way to blame the girl he's "not quite" seeing. He details his desire to be held and wanting to be less lonely but places this pressure that it's not to be taken seriously or else she'll have ruined the whole situation. I don't think it comes out as tongue and cheek as maybe it wants to be and I partially expect that won't be as much at fault of the artists as with so many people casually hooking up and conventionally committed relationships on the decline, some might find it cathartic to find themselves not alone in this line of thinking. Dishonesty is another major part of the song with HEwas deliberately withholding his feelings as he wants "a piece of loving" but he's not ready to feel the whole thing, and Afroman takes it a step further with his detailing that the woman he's seeing on the side is someone he's cheating on his wife with. 

You can immediately feel the sense of fun I'm sure these two had while making this track and coming off of "Lemon", the production is more refined and layered although sometimes it borders on messy, but maybe its deliberate as to evoke the feeling of these two messy men making messy choices. HEwas has a fantastic voice that would already sound at home on wider radio play and you're immediately struck by the sense that you're watching a star in the making. Afroman of course nearly steals the show with his booming presence and effortless bars and yes, "Because I Got High" is mentioned, and yes it's fantastic and funny. 

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/iamhewas/whole-thing-44k-24b-hdk-mstr-2/s-CpS30dczlr0 

It might run the risk of accidentally glorifying this behavior especially from HEwas' somewhat relatable downplayed approach, but I think with Afroman's verse it makes it clear this is not something to be taken seriously or replicated. It's always a delight when you can almost hear the artists smiling while in the recording booth and that sense of devil may care attitude carries over the entire production. If it weren't for 2020 making the concept of summer fun non existent, I feel like this would have just dominated many a summer party playlists but hopefully with brighter sights set for 2021 we'll see this go from cult hit to bonafide mainstream darling. 

It's also a true testament to HEwas' ability to work with other artists and he's very humbled and has grown from the experience of working with Afroman. He's a grateful guy on the rise and it'll be exciting to see where he goes from here. 

**********

Cleopatra Patel

Surat, GJ. (IND) 

1/2021