Reclaiming Your Power: El Cousteau's "Dirty Harry"

"I'm not listening to no opinion of n****s telling me what the fuck I shoulda did, I looked at myself, had to look at my soul, and admit lately really I ain't been me... say a lil something just please for me, for the wrong I did, all the lies I told, all my insecurities..."  

These are the first words spoken by D.C. rapper, El Cousteau on his 2023 album "Dirty Harry" off of the opening track "B/W". This opening prayer and moment of reflection that Cousteau provides us over an ethereal, soulful sample loop would likely make listeners anticipate a solemn album focused on heart-wrenching raps and minimal, non-invasive production styles, but this expectation is immediately squashed not even a second after this invocation.

"I"M A BAD ASS N****, I'M A BAD BAD MAN, I'M A BAD MOTHERFUCKER"

(listen and you'll get why I typed this in all caps)

The beat switches instantly, drums come crashing in, and Cousteau responds to his own plight with radical, seemingly unhinged, self-love and acceptance of ones own flaws in a way that should inspire any reasonable person to immediately step outside and figure out whatever it is you gotta do to make $50,000 before you come back home for the night, and you WILL come home with that $50k.

"This is for all the times I was on bullshit knowing we supposed to be on them private jets"

The bravado, player attitude, raps about hustle and desired luxury throughout the album may seem like a letdown to a more "studious" listener (I'd like to use harsher words), but that's the art of "Dirty Harry". Every track that follows is Cousteau making up for the ways he let himself down up to this point. Humility is off the table, it's time to get to work.

The song following Cousteau's introduction to his own metamorphosis, "Nitro", sonically encapsulates the experience of slamming your foot on the gas of a supercar with no intention of even considering the brakes as indicated by one of the opening lines.

"The car start with a press of a button and then it start flying"

This track also marks a long list of iconic, slick, pimpish, yet aggressively confident lines throughout the album such as:

"I'm speaking from the point of view of a n**** that got BITCHES"

Cousteau's lines about his relations with women throughout this album are as confidence-inducing and blunt as they are hilarious. Soon after the previously mentioned line he says:

"When I'm in the 929 (New York) I start to miss my old bitch"

Then follows that with:

"Ralph Lauren button down my mother think I'm cross dressing"

If that doesn't make you feel something then I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you just don't relate to the point of view of someone that got bitches. And that's fine. I really can't explain what these bars do for me beyond that.

 And I have to highlight this line as well:

"For real I'd rather you lie because I don't wanna know what you're doing when you ain't with me" 

(from "Cpn", which follows "Nitro", a track that opens with the line "All my bitches honest")

The album continues on filled with shameless communication of a life that we the listeners most certainly do not know shit about. Instead of demanding our respect for what he's done and vying for our approval, he instead flips it and questions which of us deserves to actually be let in and respected by HIM. 

"You don't know an 8 ball from a half boy your weak ass don't know nothing, can't fill a n**** in on the product if you ain't ever sold before, see you just a rookie ass n**** out here they gon' treat your ass just like a whore" 

(from "Harry", which maintains the feeling of accidentally walking into a hazy room of men counting through knots with their hands, blunt in mouth, plainly ignoring you because they know you know you have no business being there and they've got bigger fish to fry)

As this high speed, mahogany-toned-McLaren-with-a-duffel-bag-of-work-in-the-passenger-seat of an album reaches its closing segments, Cousteau slows it down and reflects on his life up to this point on "Alrite Alrite" over an instrumental that I can only describe as lighting a fresh cigar with a silk smoker's jacket on while sitting on the rear porch of a freshly purchased home in the Hampton's. 

"Got 3 minutes left on this jail call with my dog and I miss him, as the sun goes down I drift off and think about my life, so many times this shit could've been over if I didn't make the proper decision in time"

Cousteau proceeds to get into his life of hustling and his need to be more grateful for his own ability to survive so that he can invest his time and resources into a proper career in music. This occurs throughout the album, but it's at its most potent in this track. As if to say that all of what we heard from him up to this point was reflective of what he had to go through, and likely still goes through, just to establish himself as an artist. 

But he no longer bears shame for what he has done or gone through, and instead views his life that has pushed him to the brink of what he's capable of in a way where he comes to acknowledge the power he holds within himself to change his conditions for the better.

On "Dirty Harry" Cousteau embraces his flaws and the darkness that he's capable of. Not in a way that seeks to identify with it, but instead accept it radically and openly, and learn from it so that he can redirect that same intensity and energy into something that will provide him and his loved ones a life removed from struggle.

While Cousteau approaches this subject with a tank of nitrous attached to his engine, his bravado does not eclipse the message behind the music.  

And to me, THAT is what reclaiming your power is all about. Confidently looking at your life up to the point that you're at, examining what went right and wrong, what should be avoided, your capabilities, what you want, and how you're gonna get it. Because you owe it to yourself.

Once you've taken that look, you know what to do, and you know it's only you that can achieve it.

For those of us that are out there hustling, "Dirty Harry" reminds us that you can't let the chaos make you, but you need to own its affect on you. Keep your head straight and pointed on the path towards the life you truly want for yourself.

You have to be able to admit to yourself when you've steered off course or else you'll become victim to perpetuating your own Hell. Accept the love of others without fear of loving them back. Most importantly, always love yourself, and protect that light inside of you at all costs.

Because that is the true beauty amongst chaos that will bring you back.

I wish I had all the words to fully describe the phenomenon that occurs in my brain chemistry when I listen to this project. It's tunnel vision with a keen eye for the peripherals. It's as vulnerable as it is standoffish, and unpacks it in a way that is at times rough, but self-forgiving of that roughness with a reassurance of improvements being made. 

If you trust my taste and are looking for something to help you help yourself, this album is at the top of my list currently. I hope you reclaim the power within you.

You have my support. Not that you need it.

 "I've got good homies around me, but can't nobody do this for me but myself, and that's fye" - El Cousteau

 

Regards,

CEO

 

Must-Listens:

B/W, Nitro, Oysters n' sparklin' water, Harry, Alrite Alrite