Are you still a nepo baby if your famous parent doesn’t want to have anything to do with you? Sweetface Killah finds Infinite Coles, the gay son of Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah, grappling with questions like that, though he also probes beyond the hardships of living in the shadow a famous (and famously homophobic) father.
The album’s opening track, “SweetFaceKillah,” doesn’t mince words, with Coles proudly referring to himself as “batty boy, sweetface killah,” an anti-gay Jamaican slur followed by an insult used against him on social media. He confronts his own father’s criticism head-on: “Are my pants not low like your self-esteem?/Do I need to fuck a bitch just so you could see?”
While two of his brothers, like his father, are rappers, Coles carves out a different lane for himself on Sweetface Killah. Though his sound is grounded in queer Black culture, specifically the ballroom scene, the album explores various genres, including house music on “Boots,” R&B on “Dad & I,” and Afrobeat on “Mama Song.”
Coles’s vocals on “Thankful,” with its soulful a cappella intro, and “Dad & I” recall the gospel-influenced melisma of singers like Mary J. Blige. “The scars on my body could’ve been much worse, but I’m still here,” he sings on the former, which also features some pitch-shifted rapping: “I’m gonna be exactly what you see/So please don’t bother me.”
The standout “Dad & I” strikes a more gracious, emotional tone, as Coles reaches out into the void, bluntly wondering if his father ever loved him. Similarly, the tender “Mama Song” sees a subdued Coles speaking from the perspective of his mother and promising protection, until he shouts his feelings out: “We will not live in his hell…I am my ancestor’s dream.”
Thoughtfully sequenced, Sweetface Killah leaves its anger behind as it nears the end. Coles is determined to make the most of his life: “Baby, live your life,” he declares on the penultimate track, “BGM.” By the time these last few songs roll around, specifically closer “Hummingbird,” he seems to escape his father’s influence and seek love from his chosen family. And with Sweetface Killah, Coles begins to establish his own legacy.
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