“9:45, 15 minutes till we close,” I think to myself as I take trash bags out and ram trays of dishes through the sanitizer, racing against the clock to get done ASAP. ‘@ mentions’ start blowing up my phone. It’s midnight on the east coast and Travis Thompson’s new Runaways EP is out on all platforms. It’s nice living on the west coast, it feels like you get new music and games early. Thank you, time zones.
I push the cloud icon to add the EP to my collection as I’m washing off the dish pit from my arms and face, collect my things and head out the door.
The “I Wish” chorus starts slapping through my AirPods and I just started running through the alley, mixing sauce and jumping around like I was 17 again hearing Seattle hip-hop for the very first time.
Runaways Doesn’t Just Recycle Singles
Runaways is a six-track project. Three brand new songs combined with three previously released singles. Sometimes it feels lazy when artists reuse singles for EP’s but not here. Listening to “Father Forgive Me,” “Need You,” and “Hold Me Down” in order with the other three songs gives new context to Thompson’s life story. They also have a different feel than their single counterparts. The mastering sounds fuller, has neater vocal effects that blend seamlessly into each other. I love when projects are mixed to improve the beginning-to-end listening experience.
Thompson’s dreams come to life in the first track. Enveloping me in the same energy that moved me to Seattle on two different occasions in my life. The last track, “Safe,” hammered that feeling home as I sipped on a lemon-lime Gatorade, dancing and vibing under the west-Seattle night sky.
“There’s a place in my head, where I’m safe in my head, I was safe in my nest, but I got these wings for a reason”
It only took 20 minutes for this EP to solidify every gut feeling I’ve ever had about my dedication to Seattle hip-hop. There’s a safe place in my head too. In that place, there’s always a Travis Thompson track slapping the window panes, helping me chase my dreams alongside his.
