Their commercially successful sophomore album E&A (released 2004) became a staple of the Twin Cities hip hop community, although following hectic touring the release of Eyedea & Abilities next album By The Throat would take several years, with Eyedea and DJ Abilities touring separately.
After a productive hiatus they returned with the critically acclaimed By The Throat (released 2009). Sonically divergent from their earlier work, By The Throat would showcase the their individual development along with the talents of Jeremy Ylvisaker, J.T. Bates & Graham O'Brien.
Eyedea (Born Micheal Larsen on November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010) who also performed under the name Oliver Hart became widely known because of his battle and freestyle skills. The Many Faces of Oliver Hart prominently features the obliterating lyrical speed of a young Carnage the Executioner aka Terrell Woods along with Slug (of Atmosphere). Eyedea was best known for his victory at the Blaze Battle, which was aired on HBO, showing some of the best underground battlers in action. Eyedea largely toured with Slug aka Sean Daley during his early career, and would continue to collaborate with his mentor.
Numerous posthumous releases regularly appear since his passing, including Face Candy Waste-Age Teen Land and Eyenine Afraid to Dream on Crushkill Recordings, along with dedications from Kristoff Krane aka Christoffer Keller, Sadistik aka Cody Foster, No Bird Sing, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Carnage XXXL, Murs among others. His mother Kathy Averill maintains an official dedication site www.micheallarsen.com.
DJ Abilities aka Maxx Keltgen is known for winning three DMC awards and for his work on his mixtapes and 1200 Hobos. He continues to tour, and is currently signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.
Void
Eyedea & Abilities Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seeing the world from a creative angle turns into seeing it from a couch
Orgasms become lifetimes. Bong hits turn into white lines
A face becomes a dartboard and cardboard becomes a house
Boys turn into men. Enemies become your friends
Losing turns into winning and the beginning becomes the end
Words turn into magic.
Rabbits become vultures and cultures become trends
A party becomes a funeral. Sunlight turns into cancer
The rain turns beautiful. An unusual question becomes an answer
Happiness becomes a cataract. A sip turns into a six-pack
And Earth turns into Mars as my album becomes a standard
A hero becomes a statistic. A lost soul enlisted
The potholes are lifted as the hot coals leave you blistered
A sickness becomes a teardrop. A cup of coffee becomes a long day
Your best friend's guidance becomes the wrong way
As the song plays my voice becomes the past, present, and future
Transportation becomes pollution as humans become computers
Time becomes space. Minds become waste
And a person becomes less interested when a mic becomes an instrument
An age turns into a nightmare. Love becomes hate
The nine becomes a zero and every country becomes one state
All you thought you knew was just a foolish assumption
Yes, everything is something. But something is nothing
In "Void," Eyedea and Abilities comment on the fleeting nature of life and the changes that come with age and experience. They begin with the simple assertion that days turn into years and students sometimes turn into dropouts. From there, they explore more profound transformations: creative perspective turns into couch-bound monotony, abstract concepts like happiness and heroism become empty platitudes or realities tinged with negativity. The duo creatively employs metaphors and wordplay to capture these shifts in a way that's both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.
As the song progresses, Eyedea and Abilities continue to ruminate on the transient nature of things. They observe how the mundane pleasures of life--orgasms, bong hits, coffee--can become sources of addiction, coping mechanisms that ultimately do more harm than good. They also look at more societal transformations: certain cultures gain popularity, while others fade into obscurity; enemies can become friends, while heroes are sometimes reduced to nothing more than a numerical statistic. Even time and space themselves undergo radical shifts, until everything becomes a sort of meaningless blur.
Overall, "Void" is a meditation on the evanescent nature of existence. By juxtaposing what we often think of as constants or absolutes--like love, age, or success--with the possibility of their reversal or diminishment, Eyedea and Abilities remind us of the fragile, precarious nature of human experience. They also invite us to consider how we might respond to these transformations, and what meaning we can find in a world that seems to constantly shift beneath our feet.
Line by Line Meaning
Days turn into years. "A" students turn into dropouts
The swift passage of time has a way of transforming individuals, even accomplished "A" students, into people who lose motivation and direction and end up dropping out
Seeing the world from a creative angle turns into seeing it from a couch
A creative approach to life gets subdued by everyday routines and becoming fixated on a sedentary lifestyle
Orgasms become lifetimes. Bong hits turn into white lines
The short-lived pleasure from sexual gratification transforms into a lifetime of chasing that feeling off and on, and recreational activities escalate to the point of becoming physical addictions
A face becomes a dartboard and cardboard becomes a house
People and living arrangements can become interchangeable and be perceived as disposable, the value of standards reaches an all-time low
Boys turn into men. Enemies become your friends
People evolve from being naive and immature over time and sometimes those they initially come in conflict with can become close acquaintances
Losing turns into winning and the beginning becomes the end
Sometimes when things don't go as planned, one may unexpectedly end up winning; and as history repeats itself, the beginning and end of a series of events can be cyclical
Words turn into magic.
When carefully pieced together, words can enhance context and meanings beyond their literal translations
Rewind becomes a habit
One may fixate on past memories to the point of becoming habitual, making it difficult to progress to new experiences
Rabbits become vultures and cultures become trends
The natural becomes unnatural and the innovative becomes the customary, the social climate transforms in time
A party becomes a funeral. Sunlight turns into cancer
An occurrence of a good time fades to the point of becoming unrecognizable or even detrimental; and something beautiful can suddenly turn destructive or harmful
The rain turns beautiful. An unusual question becomes an answer
What is usually perceived as ugly can be beautiful and what appears as out of the ordinary, can unlock a new level of understanding; different perspectives can exist
Happiness becomes a cataract. A sip turns into a six-pack
The joy once felt from small indulgences can lead to a sense of dullness and addiction in the long run
And Earth turns into Mars as my album becomes a standard
People's perception of things change and evolve, what was once innovative can become familiar and mainstream. In a similar way, the artist's album that was once fresh and new can become the norm
A hero becomes a statistic. A lost soul enlisted
The good deeds and high regard some individuals are once celebrated for, can eventuate to them being a small statistic for purposes of recordkeeping, and someone who once had a strong sense of self can become part of a larger entity due to circumstances
The potholes are lifted as the hot coals leave you blistered
When trying to move forward and make progress, new obstacles arise and sometimes the process in trying to overcome them can be both painful and monotonous
A sickness becomes a teardrop. A cup of coffee becomes a long day
A physical malady can have psychological implications causing emotional pain, and the time associated with something once enjoyed can suddenly become a form of agony
Your best friend's guidance becomes the wrong way
In this instance, what was once celebrated as a wise decision when receiving advice can suddenly turn to be counterproductive
As the song plays my voice becomes the past, present, and future
The presence of the voice is eternal and can evoke a feeling and maintain importance from the point of its creation and beyond its prime; creates a timelessness vibe
Transportation becomes pollution as humans become computers
The advancements of technology and modern convenience inevitably lead to unexpected consequences like pollution, and the technological movement of society can cause people to lose a sense of empathy, detachment
Time becomes space. Minds become waste
The concepts of time and space can be inverted, creating confusion; and cerebral faculties become stagnant losing productivity
And a person becomes less interested when a mic becomes an instrument
The dedication or obsession towards a particular aspect can cool down in time, leading to loss of passion
An age turns into a nightmare. Love becomes hate
The happy times associated with youth can turn to be cringe-worthy, and the affection developed for someone can lead to discord and hatred
The nine becomes a zero and every country becomes one state
A sense of uniformity can eventually become universal, leading to the standardization of everything including geographical regions
All you thought you knew was just a foolish assumption
What a person once considered to be of absolute certainty can become irrelevant or inaccurate, leading to questioning of personal principles and norms established upon biases
Yes, everything is something. But something is nothing
Everything has a value, everything means something objectively but in other contexts, they can mean nothing subjectively
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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