About

A TAV Curator's Pick.

Ego Death is the third studio album by American hip hop soul band, The Internet, released in 2015.

The Internet was formed in early 2011 by Odd Future members Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians,and also includes members Jameel Bruner, Patrick Paige, Christopher A. Smith, and Steve Lacy. Odd Future is an American hip hop collective led by rapper and producer Tyler, The Creator, and included rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean amongst others.

Ego Death was recorded in the band's hometown of Los Angeles. The album is a heady mix of confessions and come-ons, shiny Rhodes keyboard glimmers, chugging drums, slinking bass lines, and Syd's honeyed voice anchoring the mix. It's an album that connects the dots between Digable Planets, Erykah Badu's Baduizm, the warm, inviting breezes of the West Coast, and the stories that only happen very late at night or very early in the morning, all played by musicians who are carrying the soul torch for the new generation.

The band says Ego Death is about "being vulnerable and honest. It's about us growing up as a band and as individuals, and the challenges we're facing and learning from. It's about us acknowledging our egos and the egos around us, and using them the best way we know how."

Ego Death is The Internet's most evolved album to date, featuring guest appearances from the likes of Janelle Monae, Tyler, the Creator, and Vic Mensa.

The Internet began as two people Syd and Matt. Syd taught herself how to record, engineer, and produce at age 15. She also sings, imbuing every song with a passionate, mellifluous, quiet power. Matt produces and plays synths. She's now 23; he's now 26. Like all post-modern relationships, the duo initially met on Myspace in 2008, only to meet in-person three years later. The Internet have released two prior albums including 2011's Purple Naked Ladies and 2012's Feel Good.

The album's first single, "Special Affair," is a sultry, skittering swirl of a song that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the rest of the record.

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