Vaughn Robinson, also known as VaunDoom, boasted that his previous album, “This Thing I’ve Built,” was his best lyrical project yet in an interview with Richland Source in January of 2022.
However, during a listening party for his latest release, “The Curse of Man,” when reminded of his earlier claim, Robinson quickly responded, “not anymore.”
Robinson, a Lexington High School graduate, has now released 20 full-length albums, but his most recent, “The Curse of Man” is arguably his most complete, from marketing to production to lyrics to recognition from his peers in the hip-hop community.
Perhaps one of the best pieces of evidence that VaunDoom is gaining more fans of his work is that he packed Diamond Studio Productions, on 88 N. Diamond Street in Mansfield, on March 16 for “The Curse of Man” album listening party.
During the listening party, Robinson played the album in its entirety to a captive room and explained his inspiration for lyrics, themes of the album and more.
The rest of this article summarizes what Robinson talked about that night and gives a glimpse into the meaning behind “The Curse of Man,” which is now available for purchase on Bandcamp. Eventually, the album will be released for free on streaming platforms.
The people cursed their lives lost It’s soiled land And it all comes from the flesh Hear the curse of man — Lyrics from track 2, “The Curse”
This album was initially inspired by political turmoil and social media toxicity Robinson witnessed during the summer of 2020, as well as his love for Dark Souls video games.
“On social media, you see the worst in people sometimes. I thought, ‘why do people go on here and call people the worst things just because of a political orientation? Why do people treat others this way, especially on the Internet?’ ” Robinson asked.
“Also, I’m a big nerd and play a lot of Dark Souls games,” he said. “I got an idea from that – in Dark Souls, humans are like the least of all creatures. The gods put this seal on humans so they can’t do cool stuff and it’s kinda like a curse.”
So the album’s main focus is centered around human weakness and the vices humans succumb to, which can lead to disastrous consequences. Robinson hopes the album will help people realize the reality of the human condition, which is often overlooked in our fast-paced world.
He admits that it’s a more serious album, even dark at times. But it’s filled with personal themes that many people can relate to. It finishes on an encouraging note, that people’s vision of themselves should be greater than any curse they may be under.
On track 4, “The Great Betrayal,” Robinson discusses addictions and how the things that people often become the most dependent on, betray them in the worst way.
“It’s like how you’ll get higher and higher and then you like, have a crash, then you fall, then things start to go crazy and you don’t know what you’re doing and then like, you start to depend on something so bad that everything else in your life just falls apart,” he said.
The track that follows is “Lightless Soul,” the single on the album that was released prior to the full album’s release. This song is all about the height of that addiction, or whatever it is that has you feeling invincible.
“This song is even better within the context of the album, because it now goes from The Great Betrayal to Lightless Soul where you get sucked into these things, and you start to like them and then you just ride. Ride into the night,” he said.
Generations of the soul forsaken, From the slaves taken to the neck caved in, We’ve found the means to survive the plight, but it doesn’t stop the attack on titans — Lyrics from track 7, “Blood of the Dark Soul”
Tracks 6 and 7, “Cursed Codes” and “Blood of the Dark Soul” are also connected. According to Robinson, some of his best lyrical and beat work happens on these tracks.
On “Cursed Codes,” Robinson talks about how he wrote the song about people who fall into the street life, and the rules, codes and traditions that come with it. He stressed that people often glorify things without realizing the harsh realities behind them. On “Blood of the Dark Soul,” Robinson used a double entendre to reference the Dark Soul III video game’s painted world, the George Floyd murder and the attack on titans.
“In the DLC [or downloaded content] of the painted world on Dark Souls III, there’s this weird girl who wants to paint another world, and this guy Slave Knight Gael, tries to get the blood of the dark soul, but I made it so it’s about the blood of the Black man,” Robinson said.
“Blood of the Dark Soul” also relates to George Floyd and the video game series, Attack on Titan.
“If any of you anime nerds watch Attack on Titan, you gotta kill these giant guys by cutting them in the neck, that’s the only way you can kill them,” he said. “I wanted to tie that in, comparing George getting killed by suffocating to the titans getting sliced on the neck.”
I’m a bird that wants no part of the folk I tend to stay with, But I’m pushed to fuel the Vices Satan tends to dig my grave with — Lyrics from track 9, “Plight of the Dark Soul”
The next track, “Broken Curse,” was a very personal song that Robinson didn’t want to talk much about, as it was about a relationship that ended badly. Relatable to many, he used the lyrics to reflect his feelings about being gaslit.
On “Plight of the Dark Soul” (track 9), he talked about how sometimes people find themselves in situations where they don’t know how to get out of them, reflecting on the darkness and vices that people often struggle with.
“I think there’s a certain time in all of us, where we reach a certain age and we discover that our innocence is probably diminished,” Robinson said. “That’s kinda how this song is.
“You’ve gone through so much and you look back to see the person you used to be compared to the person you are now, and you might not like that person because of certain things you’ve gone through.”
Robinson wanted to end the album on a positive note, so on the last track, “A Promise (Age of Light),” he emphasized that people can be bigger and better than their struggles. They can move forward.
The last few parts of the song are the most important, according to Robinson.
The curse of man will exist if you let it reside, But your vision of you is greater, so let that shit die. — Lyrics from track 10, “A Promise (Age of Light”
“I think that’s something that everyone might need to feel – people feel certain ways about themselves like they can’t do things or be this way, or even worse, live. You have people that might think living ain’t cut out for them,” Robinson said.
“So I wanted to leave the last song on a good note, to encourage people to keep on moving, even though you have certain challenges in life that are hard to overcome, but as long as you’re overcoming, that’s the most important thing.”
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