Powfu, poems of the past (EP) | Album Review 💿

“Death bed” is the crowning achievement on poems of the past, but Powfu shows immense potential and talent beyond its biggest hit.

Canadian rapper and singer Powfu (Isaiah Faber) accomplished something only few musicians do – a legit, breakthrough, Billboard Hot 100 hit.  That hit is ✓“death bed”, a beautiful, but sad song where the protagonist is dying, and his girlfriend ultimately must continue living and move beyond the grief once he’s passed away.  It’s an unorthodox hit, mind you, but personally, it’s a song that once you hear it, you just can’t let it go. The question for me was, after coming through so big with “death bed,” just how good was Faber’s EP, poems of the past? Well, it turns out, Isaiah Faber brings a lot to the table beyond “death bed.”

“death bed”

Powfu commences poems of the past with his ‘ace in the hole,’ getting a mighty assist from indie-pop singer/songwriter, beabadoobee. Beabadoobee plays a big role thanks to a sample of her song, “Coffee”, fueling the fire.  Even so, Otterpop does a nice job producing this chill yet potent and thoughtful record. Powfu rides the beat easily, seemingly never breaking a sweat, reflecting on love, life, and God.  “I been praying for forgiveness, you’ve been praying for my health,” he raps on the first verse, continuing, “When I leave this earth, hopin’ you’ll find someone else…”  The second verse is shorter but offers much of the same. He’s so happy she’s with him, he recollects the memories, but on a sad note, tells her, “Soon you’ll be alone, sorry that you have to lose me.” Of course, the centerpiece is the beabadoobee chorus, with Faber joining her on select instances.

“Don’t stay awake for too long, don’t go to bed
I’ll make a cup of coffee for your head
It’ll get you up and going out of bed.”

All in all, this sweet gem is poetic, reflective, and incredibly thoughtful.  The authenticity and sincerity may be the biggest selling point of this record, which earned a spot amongst the crème de la crème of 2020.  A ‘bonus remix,’ featuring blink-182 concludes poems of the past, but it’s not necessary – Powfu and beabadoobee have got this locked down.  The biggest draw of the remix is Travis Barker’s added drums, while otherwise, I didn’t find myself particularly impressed (I wasn’t feeling thee Mark Hoppus vocals in other words).

“Im used to it”

What is impressive, however, is the rest of poems of the past beyond its breakthrough hit.  He speaks of being an outcast on ✓ “im used to it,” which should definitely be relatable to anyone who wasn’t among the popular crowd.  “Stayed inside my room, high school doesn’t miss me,” he pop-raps, continuing, “Didn’t go to prom, had no one to go with me / I didn’t want to ask you out / ‘Cause I’m not who you talk about.”  Again, very relatable and quite realistic.  The chorus is perfect:

“Yeah, I’m used to this, the same old shit
Left alone wherever I sit (wherever I sit)
Why this place so dry, no love to find
You’re the only one that ever acts kind...”

The self-deprecation continues.  While it’s bothersome and unsettling in the big scheme of things, the schadenfreude is legit here – we are all enjoying this song where Faber is experiencing utter misfortune.  He comes with some punch on the brief ✓ “ill come back to you” which features Sarcastic Sounds and Rxseboy.  While the flow has been on-point throughout poems of the past, I particularly love the approach Powfu takes here, continuing to reflect on the past over the course of two verses.  He also sings on the chorus. Sarcastic Sounds produces (with Faber), while Rxseboy performs on the third verse, as well as the outro.

“a world of chaos”

Rxseboy stays onboard for “a world of chaos,” which also adds Jomie and Ivri.  Here, Powfu is inspired by his own life once more, according to Apple Music:

“Growing up, my parents would fight quite a bit. They would have breaks from each other, but they never, like, fully divorced. So, I’m writing about what it would be like if I were in that position.” 

“a world of chaos” commences with the soft vocals of Ivri oon the intro, before Powfu sings the chorus – yet another successful chorus at that.  Rxesboy raps on the first verse with a fast pace, setting up the experiences Faber commented on above.  Jomie contrasts Rxesboy, singing on the brief second verse, including the key lyrics, “I just need aa breather, I’m not good under pressure / I know that it’s hard, but I’ll be here forever.” Faber appears on the third and final verse, continuing to be ‘in his feelings’: “Always want you more with all the days that passed / If you break up now, know that I’ll always look back.”

“popular girl, typical boy”

“popular girl, typical boy” is the longest song on the six-song, 17-minute EP, running more than four minutes.  It’s worthwhile by all means. Here, Faber enlists sleep.ing, who just happens to be his sister, Patience.  Patience does a fine job providing backing vocals, but also shining on her featured part, the second verse.

“I’m not the kind of girl that falls in love
But when I saw you all I saw was us
I never thought I’d fall for a typical boy
In an instant heart flooded with joy...”

What’s cool about that verse is that it’s essentially the chorus altered from the ‘popular girl’ perspective.  Powfu then follows, closing out “popular girl, typical boy,” with his sister’s backing vocals on the ‘typical boy’ chorus.   The whole song is a vibe of course – not just the excerpt I focused on.  The production is a vibe in its own right, specifically the intentional guitar sample.

Final Thoughts 

For all the self-deprecation, the very chill, yet emotional Powfu is quite talented.  He showcases ample potential throughout poems of the past.  What’s really key about this six-song project is that it’s not only about “death bed,” which was one of my biggest curiosities.  The biggest test will be how effective his full-length album will be.  So far, so good though!

✓ Gems: “death bed,” “im used to it” & “ill come back to you”

Poems of the past (EP) • Columbia / Robots and Humans • Release: 5.29.20

Photo Credits: Columbia / Robots and Humans