Themselves sounds like the inner workings of a clock that has been disassembled and put back together with pieces of a drum machine. It is a frantic, high-velocity collision between Doseone's distinctive, nasal, stream-of-consciousness poetry and Jel's masterfully gritty, swing-heavy production. The music feels tactile and mechanical, yet completely unpredictable, often favoring jagged edges over smooth transitions.
What truly sets them apart is the sheer density of information. Doseone delivers syllables with the speed of a machine gun, weaving together abstract imagery and internal rhymes that demand multiple listens to decode. Meanwhile, Jel uses the SP-1200 to create a sonic environment that is dusty, heavy, and deeply rhythmic, incorporating found sounds and household objects that give the tracks a unique, lived-in texture.
Start with 'The No Music' to experience their most experimental and influential peak, or dive into 'CrownsDown' for a slightly more aggressive, sharpened take on their signature sound. It is music for people who want their hip-hop to feel like a puzzle, rewarding deep focus and repeated exposure.
Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, Them, was included on Fact's "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list.
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Shares abstract hip-hop, glitch (subgenres); sample based, noise textured, layered dense (production style)
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