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12 hours ago
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The New Orleans indie-rap duo return with a new album. What are the highlights?
Ruby da Cherry and Scrim of $uicideboy$ photographed June 20, 2025 in New Orleans. Akasha Rabut
New Orleans’ indie rap titans $uicideboy$ are back with a new record, and the anticipation has never been higher.
Thy Kingdom Come follows the blockbuster success of 2024’s New World Depression, which marked the duo’s seventh entry and highest peak on the Billboard 200 (at No. 5). Four tracks also landed on the Billboard Hot 100. As the spoils of this hard-fought career continue to be reaped, the story of the duo’s lives has remained motivational lore for the group’s legions of fans. It all starts with cousins Scott Arceneaux Jr. and Aristos Petrou, who began recording as Ruby da Cherry and $crim back in 2013. The duo were tied by a suicide pact, a promise to each other for if their Hail Mary rap careers didn’t work out.
To say things did work out for the two rappers would be a gross understatement. Forty-nine projects in (give or take), the $uicideboy$ are now at an all-time career high. The release of Thy Kingdom Come also comes as the duo gears up for its biggest annual Grey Day celebration yet. Their tour this time around will include some beloved underground openers, including the elusive indie-rap vet BONES. The 44-date trek kicks off in West Palm Beach, Florida, and wraps in the pair’s hometown of New Orleans. (BONES also appears on Thy Kingdom Come as a featured guest, alongside Night Lowell, marking some of the only features to ever appear on a $uicideboy$ studio album.)
So let’s get into it: with ten tracks to sift through, where does it all stand? Here is Billboard‘s ranking of every song on Thy Kingdom Come.
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“Chain Breaker”
While “Chain Breaker” brings back the uproarious energy of what $uicideboy$ does best, the end result doesn’t quite pack as hard of a punch. The song ebbs and flows with the aggressive swagger of some of $uicideboy$’ best work, but the track ends as quickly as it begins, leaving little time to fully immerse oneself in the world the boys are creating.
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“Full of Grace (I Refuse to Tend My Own Grave)”
Another sentimental track that teeters close to an R&B song, $uicideboy$ pour their hearts out as they once again relay the dark thoughts they struggle with on a daily basis. However, there is a tinge of positivity woven between the morbid lines. “Like maybe one day I’ll be perfect in every way and then I’ll feel okay,” Ruby belts out. It’s refreshing to hear $B change up the pace here, but by the end, I’m itching to get back in the mosh pit.
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“Self-Inflicted”
This song rocks out as more of an interlude in terms of Kingdom‘s overall flow, and feels slightly restrained compared to some of $uicideboy$ best efforts on the album. At less than two minutes, the song still slaps with Ruby and $crim’s signature blend of demented aggression — just administered at a lower dose.
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“Monochromatic”
At long last, $uicideboy$ dives headfirst back into its melodic cloud-rap bag. “Monochromatic” is loud and colorful, as the duo cries out its farewells over distorted 808s and overwhelming synths. The song feels somewhat like a prologue to the project, with $B ensuring that every sound fans fell in love with gets its due process on Thy Kingdom Come.
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“Oh, What a Wretched Man I Am!”
Tapping into their more emotional side, Ruby and Scrim take a break from flexing to reminisce on how the spoils of fame distracted them from the demons polluting their souls. “They promised me chains and hoes, and cars/ The easiest way to mend a broken heart/ The easiest way to mend a broken heart/The lust for flesh, I feel like a scar,” Ruby raps, before going on to reflect about how he’s trying his best to stay sober. Aided by a cascade of violins, the pair utilize their veteran-level MC status to pen some of their tightest and most important bars in recent memory.
“My inner child is nutrition for demons/ They feast on my blood, got me feeling anemic/ I’m fiending for love ’cause the lust is so fleeting/ Opana 40s like an orange, you peel it/ Compare it to apples, you might miss the meaning/ I tear off my shackles, now I’m f—king leaving/ I am my own worst enemy, so self defeating/ I’m honestly lucky that I’m f—king breathing,” Ruby raps at a spit-fire pace, like a hip-hop technician. The memorable bars only continue from there.
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“Napoleon”
Scrim and Ruby step firmly outside their comfort zone with “Napoleon,” trading in their dark rap caps for some New Orleans bounce. The song cleverly samples Big Freedia’s “Gin in My System” and is perhaps $uicideboy$’ most playful song… maybe ever? Fans will notice that the duo’s infamous alter ego, 7th Ward Lord, is back in action, making “Napoleon” a devilishly good time from start to finish.
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“Carried Away” (feat. Night Lovell)
Night Lovell’s melodic flow feels right at home alongside the $uicideboy$ as they come together to offer a bird’s-eye view of their traumatic upbringings on “Carried Away.” $crim reflects on having heart-to-heart talks with his mom while she runs through lines of coke, while Ruby raps about “feeling strained enough to smoke the tray.” “There was trauma in the titty milk, you wonder why I’m crazy?” Ruby howls. “Carried Away” dives deep into a particularly dark rabbit hole, geared toward $uicideboy$ fans who are still struggling. “This is for all my f—kin’ people in pain,” $crim spits. “Huggin’ fans/ Begging her to not cut herself again.”
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“Count Your Blessings”
“Count Your Blessings” knocks your teeth out like a vicious right hook. The beat is as rambunctious as the drug-fueled horror-core of $uicideboy$’ past releases, but with a newfound sharpness thanks to Ruby’s and $crim’s improvements as MC’s. “Catch a opp out jogging, and send ’em on a skywalk/ Streets ain’t for evеryone, that’s why they made thе sidewalk,” $crim raps with a beat of his chest. The $uicideboy$ are back, and “Count Your Blessings” is a great reminder that the boys haven’t strayed too far from their signature sound.
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“GREY+GREY+GREY”
$crim and Ruby sound truly possessed on “GREY+GREY+GREY.” They unleash menacing laughs and guttural growls while bragging about lengthy merchandise shipping times and their fancy watches. They poke fun at astrology girls and even skin a crocodile to craft a Birkin bag. It all sounds like madness, but in the $uicideboy$ realm, it’s just par for the course.
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“Now and at the Hour of Our Death” (feat. BONES)
Any longtime supporter of $uicideboy$’s shadowy vibes knows that BONES walked so $B could run. Hearing the Godfather of this dark and seedy movement finally step into the gutter with Ruby and $crim feels like a fever dream. They had previously linked up on 2015’s “Maple Syrup,” but the lush, soulful flips on that track weren’t nearly as dirty as the muddied landscapes where BONES and $B truly thrive.
Now that we’re here, the chemistry between these three protectors of the shadow realm feels almost familial, begging the question of why this collaboration didn’t happen sooner. The trio slides through their verses so nonchalantly that it’s hard to tell where one rapper ends and the other begins. But real ones know how it sounds when the Graveyard Prince enters the room.
English (US)