DESCRIPTION:
One week from today, on Saturday, August 1st 2015, I Self Devine will officially celebrate the 10-Year Anniversary of "Self Destruction" by performing the full album + more at 7th Street Entry (701 1st Avenue North, Minneapolis).
Do not miss this special one time only event. Get your tickets NOW: bit.ly/ISelf0801

Self Destruction only had one official 12” single for the album, “Ice Cold” (b/w “All I Know” and the single-only cut, “Such Is Life”). This was around the time when 12” singles were starting to lose a bit of steam and the focus was shifting more toward full-lengths and digital releases. However, there was a second single for the album planned. “Overthrow”, an album favorite for many, was planned to be the A-side with “Everyday Shit” on the B-side. There was also a plan to include an unreleased ANT produced track on the single as well. When we first stumbled upon the master for this single, it didn’t have a track listing, so there was some debate about its origins, specifically the title. Through that process, it was dubbed “What Can I Do, Where Can I Turn?”, based off the hook. However, further discussion with I Self Devine revealed that this was initially intended to be a remix for the song “Transitions” from the Semi.Official project, but it was never used.

As for the track itself, I Self said, “I don’t know what the sample is, but the blues guitar invokes a certain kind of emotion. It reminds of a smoky hickory wood type (of song)…like when you look at the fingers you can tell they’ve worked in the field, just like, it’s been worn in. That good worn in, like you’ve lived some life." He adds with a laugh, “It’s kind of like with the Blues…if you’re young and liking the Blues then you’re definitely reincarnated cause you ain’t lived enough, had enough heartbreak, you haven’t been broke enough…” Immediately from the song’s start, you feel that heavy Blues essence. Before I Self speaks a word you can feel the weight of struggle from the music, but at the same time those same sounds are providing a sliver of hope. When I Self steps to the mic, he strongly expresses thoughts of frustration, looming death, and mounting struggles, “I’m up late haunted by the visions of death/snatching my breath, paralyzed inside my physical flesh/I'm dead tired eyes burning, having ill hallucinations/Yet the words keep spilling thru my pen, flow gracefully/Acute taste for weed, Hennessy drowning my misery/Will my death be known or a mystery, is mystery/It’s hard living hard, giving all that you got/Instead of life, I’m dreaming how I’m going get taking out/Stabbed by your friend or enemy/Family with envy and jealousy/Tortured inside a police fortress for felonies…”

If you ever heard Atmosphere’s “You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having” album then you heard a sneak peak of this track. Near the end of “Angerface” when Slug says, “So I waited till she slept then I stepped into traffic…” and the song breaks down in to a quick traffic scene and the car is playing this song, right at the hook. According to ANT, he thought this was a great song, so when he heard it wasn’t getting released he made a point to get it heard in some little way at the very least. That’s why he decided to use it on “Angelface”. ANT also says that it was after making this track, as a Semi-Official remix, that him and I Self Devine decided to work on Self Destruction together. So, although this song didn’t make the album, it was ultimately the catalyst to set it in motion.

When asked about the tone and concept of the song, I Self explains, “To me (it) was questioning and pondering…being at a pivotal fork in the road with many different options…(so) where do I go? Sometimes you’re just overwhelmed and you just want to lie down.”

Accompanying Art: This is a collage piece from I Self Devine that he created around the time of Self Destruction.