He had appeared as a solo artist and as the emcee half of the duo Eyedea & Abilities (along with long-time friend and collaborator DJ Abilities). His non-battle rhymes were generally very philosophically or thematically based, and often tell a definite narrative. His song "Bottle Dreams" is a well known piece about a young sexually abused violin prodigy who commits suicide.
For much of his youth, Eyedea lived with his mother in downtown St. Paul, MN. He attended Highland Park High School, with interests including psychology, physics, and yoga. Favorite authors include James Joyce, and Finnegan's Wake is a favourite text of his.
First establishing himself as battle emcee, Eyedea toured the circuit between 1997 and 2001, notably winning top prizes at Scribble Jam ‘99, the Rock Steady Anniversary 2000, and Blaze Battle Chicago 2000. He also toured extensively as second emcee for Atmosphere, with DJ Abilities sometimes filling in for Mr. Dibbs as tour DJ.
In 2001, he released "First Born" with his partner DJ Abilities (collectively, they were initially called the Sixth Sense, but more recently were known as Eyedea and Abilities). In 2002, under his pen name "Oliver Hart," he released the self-produced The Many Faces of Oliver Hart. In 2004, he and Abilities reunited to release the self-titled E&A (released March 23, 2004). All of Eyedea's releases have been on the Rhymesayers record label.
In addition to touring independently and with Rhymesayers labelmates, Eyedea and Abilities participated in the Def Jux-sponsored Who Killed the Robots? tour.
In 2006, Eyedea temporarily abandoned hip-hop writing and battle rapping for a new rock music project entitled Carbon Carousel.
As well as performing with Carbon Carousel, Eyedea and others had started a group called Face Candy. They released an album full of freestyles over free jazz percussion entitled This Is Where We Were.
He was signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment, and frequently collaborated with Slug, Blueprint and Sage Francis.
Eyedea died in his sleep on October 16, 2010 in his St. Paul apartment.[17] He was found dead by his mother, according to a friend.[18] Cause of death was released November 18, 2010 and ruled an accident, from respiratory depression, caused by opiate derivatives, according to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. The specific drugs found in Larsen's system have not been revealed to the public.[19]
Various hip-hop artists went on their Twitter accounts to pay their tribute to him, such as Immortal Technique, Mac Lethal, El-P and P.O.S, among others.[20][21][22][23][24]
On December 25, 2013, it was announced on Eyedea & Abilities' Facebook page[25] that a star was registered under the name Eyedea to commemorate Larsen on the web site Online Star Register.[26]
Fellow hip-hop artist and friend Murs paid homage to Eyedea on his track "I Miss Mikey" on his album Have a Nice Life. Also, the song "Flicker" from the album Southsiders by Atmosphere where Slug describes different sides of Eyedea and their relationship can be called a eulogy.[27][28] In 2013, The Uncluded, a collaboration between folk punk singer Kimya Dawson and hip hop artist Aesop Rock paid tribute to Eyedea in the song "Bats" from their album Hokey Fright.[29] Additionally, the songs "Michael" from the album Flowers for My Father, by Sadistik, "Toast to the dead" from the album The Martyr by Immortal Technique, and "Great Eyedeas Never Die", from the album King No Crown by Blueprint, are also tributes to Eyedea. [30]
Just a Reminder
Eyedea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Knock it off, Julie, I don't need you to tell me how fucking good my music is okay? I'm the one who makes it. I know how good it is. When y'all go to the studio, you make shit! I make the gourmet quality stuff because when I listen to it, I like to hear it. But you know what's on my mind right now?
...What?
Yo, I'm sick of all you stupid motherfuckers talkin' shit about my man, Eyedea. Matter of fact, if I catch you sayin' any stupid shit like that around me, I'ma punch a motherfuckin' hole in your head! Talkin' 'bout, Eyedea this, Eyedea that, get off his dick! And to all y'all critics talkin' shit, you can eat a dick too, you punk 2 bitchez.
I'm probably your favorite MC's favorite MC,
So let these lyrics infuriate your head
And tear you a thread of my inferiority complex,
Delirium content, please hear when my mouth sets
To tear you into shreds and put your arrogance in its death,
It's your best bet to quit laughing,
Unless you're good at dodging bullets.
Ain't shit gonna happen til you shut your trap and learn to focus.
Open that overgrown head for a change
And don't underestimate me in a battle I don't play.
I rip every kid in your clique in five, less than four bars
I'll take this out to east and west,
Don't test the north star!
Oh are you pissed 'cause your talent ain't felt?
Well, just talkin' shit's easy, I challenge myself.
If you were really dope, you wouldn't say it all the time,
You would be creative and I'd see it in your rhymes.
You got the nerve to say I'm soft, 'cause the thoughts that I talk
But I think that you're lost, why don't you go take a walk?
And find someone who cares how diggity your style is,
Now quit bein' childish!
Shake my hand and smile bitch!
What gave you the right to have an ego?
You got no skills! It's obvious an MC's what you're tryin' to be.
Well if it gets out of hand, my man, just remember,
I'll always be around to remind you you're weak!
Rhymesayers Entertainment, you know we be the greatest
With the break and the paints, the cuts, the rhymes and the beats!
Homebase is Minneap, come on through! And bring your crew
Next time you need to be reminded you're weak!
Peep this!
...
Eyo, look at that Eyedea kid…
I don't even know, man.
Yo, that shit he did on the Blaze Battle was kiiinda tight!
Yeah, yeah no doubt, but his album's kind of weird!
I know man, he ain't never gonna get a record deal soundin' like that!
True dat…
...
Check me out now!
I'm that kid, who never gave a fuck about a contract,
If you need to make a buck, get loose,
Rock the mic, but don't be dumb and come and test me,
'cause we jockin' like the get-paid bus, swinging from my testes.
Inch-by-inch I grow less convinced by those quote-on-quote
Battle rappers that think they're in the triple-leagues.
Recently I took their title and I never gave it back,
How come my weakest freestyle probably beats they best-written rap?
They doubt it, and then they call me out about it
And I flew off in these topics, I win, and the crowd shouted
And you can say the same but you kid,
Beat, lines are skin-deep simply when you wimps become turned into mince meat.
But bein' fresh is only half of the job,
There's a lot in this world that needs to be changed
And so I write each song with a message for humanity
And it expresses the wisdom expressed that's in my brain,
Complainin'? No. Just drainin' pus before the cyst pops,
Boy, you player hate, I'm tryna elevate this hip hop!
So stop tryin' to pretend you're real,
And go write a song someone besides your friends can feel! For real!
Sometimes you just gotta let 'em know!
Most of these MCs don't even deserve to be on a dick like they do…and that's the truth.
So a masochist comes up to me and says, "I like your record, shit was hot!"
The lyrics of the song "Just a Reminder" by Eyedea address the rapper's frustration with people who underestimate him and try to bring him down. The song opens with a satirical dialogue between two characters discussing the quality of Eyedea's music. Eyedea then steps in to defend himself and call out his critics. He asserts that he is a skilled rapper and challenges his opponents to put up a fight. He also expresses his desire to use hip hop as a platform to make a difference in the world. The song ends with Eyedea dismissing those who don't appreciate his music and urging them to try harder.
Line by Line Meaning
God damn (Eyedea), this is some serious gourmet shit! What flavor is this?
Don't tell me how good my music is because I already know. I make high-quality music that I enjoy listening to.
Yo, I'm sick of all you stupid motherfuckers talkin' shit about my man, Eyedea. Matter of fact, if I catch you sayin' any stupid shit like that around me, I'ma punch a motherfuckin' hole in your head! Talkin' 'bout, Eyedea this, Eyedea that, get off his dick! And to all y'all critics talkin' shit, you can eat a dick too, you punk 2 bitchez.
Don't talk shit about me or my friend. I'm not having it. Also, critics can eat a dick.
You got balls steppin' up to what you saying to me.
You're brave for coming at me like that.
I'm probably your favorite MC's favorite MC,
So let these lyrics infuriate your head
And tear you a thread of my inferiority complex,
Delirium content, please hear when my mouth sets
To tear you into shreds and put your arrogance in its death,
It's your best bet to quit laughing,
Unless you're good at dodging bullets.
Ain't shit gonna happen til you shut your trap and learn to focus.
Open that overgrown head for a change
And don't underestimate me in a battle I don't play.
I rip every kid in your clique in five, less than four bars
I'll take this out to east and west,
Don't test the north star!
Oh are you pissed 'cause your talent ain't felt?
Well, just talkin' shit's easy, I challenge myself.
If you were really dope, you wouldn't say it all the time,
You would be creative and I'd see it in your rhymes.
You got the nerve to say I'm soft, 'cause the thoughts that I talk
But I think that you're lost, why don't you go take a walk?
And find someone who cares how diggity your style is,
Now quit bein' childish!
Shake my hand and smile bitch!
I'm a talented MC and you can't handle it. Don't underestimate me or talk shit about me. You need to respect my skills and recognize that just talking shit is easy. You need to be creative with your rhymes if you want to be good.
What gave you the right to have an ego?
You got no skills! It's obvious an MC's what you're tryin' to be.
Well if it gets out of hand, my man, just remember,
I'll always be around to remind you you're weak!
Rhymesayers Entertainment, you know we be the greatest
With the break and the paints, the cuts, the rhymes and the beats!
Homebase is Minneap, come on through! And bring your crew
Next time you need to be reminded you're weak!
You need to check your ego because you're not as good as you think you are. If things get out of hand, I will remind you that you're weak. Rhymesayers Entertainment is the best with music, art, and rhymes. If you want to be reminded that you're weak, come see us in Minneapolis.
Check me out now!
I'm that kid, who never gave a fuck about a contract,
If you need to make a buck, get loose,
Rock the mic, but don't be dumb and come and test me,
'cause we jockin' like the get-paid bus, swinging from my testes.
Inch-by-inch I grow less convinced by those quote-on-quote
Battle rappers that think they're in the triple-leagues.
Recently I took their title and I never gave it back,
How come my weakest freestyle probably beats they best-written rap?
They doubt it, and then they call me out about it
And I flew off in these topics, I win, and the crowd shouted
And you can say the same but you kid,
Beat, lines are skin-deep simply when you wimps become turned into mince meat.
But bein' fresh is only half of the job,
There's a lot in this world that needs to be changed
And so I write each song with a message for humanity
And it expresses the wisdom expressed that's in my brain,
Complainin'? No. Just drainin' pus before the cyst pops,
Boy, you player hate, I'm tryna elevate this hip hop!
So stop tryin' to pretend you're real,
And go write a song someone besides your friends can feel! For real!
I am unstoppable. I've taken titles from battle rappers and I write songs with messages for humanity. It's easy to talk shit, but you need to be able to back it up. Stop pretending you're real and write something that more than just your friends will like.
Sometimes you just gotta let 'em know!
Most of these MCs don't even deserve to be on a dick like they do…and that's the truth.
You need to let these MCs know if they're not good. They don't deserve the attention they're getting.
So a masochist comes up to me and says, "I like your record, shit was hot!"
Someone who likes pain came up to me and complimented my record.
Contributed by Arianna D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.