Delilah Bon - Evil hate filled female
Written by Josh Osman (1/10/24)
About...
Delilah Bon’s sophomore solo album Evil Hate Filled Female is an unrelentingly furious return for the punk rap artist, firing shots at misogynists, homophobes and internet incels. Across fourteen tracks, Hands Off Gretel’s frontwoman showcases a dynamic range of vocal styles, with rage-fuelled screams, occasional soft melodies and a rapping style that finds itself somewhere between Doja Cat and The Beastie Boys.
Lyrics...
‘Direct’ is perhaps the only way to describe Bon’s lyrical style. Whether she’s bringing swaggering empowerment on tracks like ‘Villain’ or taking on sexual predators, while also criticising those who are compliant, on ‘Epstein’, Bon is no-holds-barred. What she lacks in subtlety or lyrical depth, she makes up for with unbridled rage, bold, necessary political messaging, and a sense of humour. On the forceful album closer, ‘Committed a Crime’, Bon mimics the voices of her detractors, parodying the violent anti-feminist rhetoric that has been hurled at her through her rise.
Production...
Bon bounces between sounds, drawing on 80’s hip-hop, metal and punk rock. Though she occasionally experiments with unconventional instrumentation and humorous sound effects, like the unsheathing of a sword on ‘Freak Alert’, the thread of nu-metal inspiration runs rigid through the album. Throughout the album, Bon channels an equally varied array of influences in her vocal deliveries, flipping with haste between rage metal screams and a flow that recalls Eminem in his early career.
Summary...
Evil Hate Filled Female is a political statement above all, and Delilah Bon’s tinkering with character adds a certain liveliness that ties her messaging and artistic image together. Occasionally, Bon’s lyricism doesn’t quite bring the nuance or wit of her best work with Hands Off Gretel, and isn’t always as musically diverse or exciting. That being said, her second solo album is nevertheless a well-intentioned attempt at utilising her bratty and punky persona to bring a brazen immediacy to her activism.
