Paris

At its core, "Paris" is a visceral exploration of nihilism, existential dread, and the paradoxical empowerment found in self-destruction. The song delves into the allure and despair of living on the extreme fringes of society, where the protagonists reject conventional morality and embrace an anti-heroic lifestyle. The recurring themes of mental health struggles, violence, and substance abuse act as both a cry for help and a defiant armor against a world they perceive as fundamentally broken and unforgiving.

The lyrics weave a grim narrative that contrasts extreme, aggressive posturing with profound inner emptiness. When the artists describe "dying inside" while simultaneously boasting about their lethal capabilities and newfound wealth, they are highlighting the hollow nature of their success. The song suggests that true liberation for the narrators only comes from fully succumbing to their darker instincts and "shedding their skin," a metaphor for abandoning their painful humanity to become unfeeling entities. Ultimately, "Paris" captures the chaotic duality of $uicideboy$'s artistry: transforming genuine trauma, rejection, and suicidal ideation into a powerful, albeit disturbing, anthem of survival and dominance.

The narrative plunges into the gritty and unforgiving underbelly of society, beginning with an abrasive reflection on what it means to rise from absolute rock bottom. The protagonist paints a picture of surviving through extreme measures, navigating dangerous streets like a predator creeping out of a dungeon, armed with a switchblade and carrying a heavy, menacing aura. Opulence, symbolized by a gleaming gold grill, is worn like armor against a world that is constantly threatening to tear them down. There is an unapologetic embrace of violence and volatile aggression, vividly illustrated through the imagery of discharging a fully loaded weapon with flawless accuracy, establishing an imposing and untouchable presence.

As the perspective shifts, the focus turns inward towards a deeply nihilistic and anti-heroic mindset. The protagonists outright reject the role of traditional saviors, stating clearly that they do not fight crime; instead, they exist in the nighttime, plagued by bloodshot eyes and an overwhelming sense of dying internally. This internal death is contrasted by explicit depictions of raw physical escapism, utilizing crude and visceral metaphors to describe sexual encounters and drug-fueled numbness that serve to distract from their persistent existential pain. The juxtaposition of intense outer hostility and profound inner decay forms the emotional core of the narrative.

Ultimately, the narrative crescendos into a dark declaration of transformation. The speaker expresses an intense desire to abandon their current state of being, shedding their human skin to fully embrace a demonic or devilish persona. This metamorphosis signifies a total severing of ties with the past, erasing all remnants of nostalgia or regret. By choosing this destructive and permanent path, often metaphorically linked to pulling the plug on their own existence, they find a twisted form of financial and personal vindication—turning their deepest traumas, past rejections, and self-inflicted wounds into a source of immense power and material success.

"Paris" was released on November 18, 2015, serving as the lead single for $uicideboy$'s mixtape "Now the Moon's Rising". The track was entirely produced, engineered, and programmed by Scott Arceneaux Jr. (known as $crim), under his production alter-ego Budd Dwyer. This alias itself is a dark reference to the politician R. Budd Dwyer, highlighting the duo's penchant for macabre and provocative themes.

During this period in 2015, $uicideboy$ were rapidly ascending in the underground SoundCloud rap scene, releasing music at a prolific rate. "Paris" became a pivotal breakthrough track for the cousins, greatly boosting their mainstream and underground visibility. Its creation was deeply influenced by the Memphis rap scene and Three 6 Mafia, blending those classic southern hip-hop elements with the duo's unique flavor of horrorcore and trap metal. The track's raw creation process mirrored their personal lives at the time, which were heavily marred by severe substance abuse and mental health struggles—experiences that they channeled directly into the recording booth as a form of dark therapy.

The rhythmic structure of "Paris" is highly dynamic, characterized by rapid tempo pacing and complex lyrical subdivision. The instrumental beat itself is set to a mid-tempo bounce (approximately 106 BPM), but the vocal delivery often operates in double-time, utilizing aggressive triplet flows commonly found in Memphis rap.

$crim's verse relies heavily on internal rhymes and consonance, creating a percussive effect with his words (e.g., "Thirty rounds of the clip, off rip / Too thick with the stick, bet I won't miss"). This AABB and slant rhyme structure emphasizes the track's menacing tone. Ruby's verse, however, breaks into a more chaotic and breathless free-flowing rhythm. He strings together dense blocks of perfect and slant multisyllabic rhymes, manipulating his vocal cadence to purposefully clash with and then seamlessly rejoin the underlying drum pattern. This intense interplay between the vocal rhythm and the sparse, heavy instrumental rhythm creates a sense of suffocating tension that perfectly mirrors the song's anxious themes.

Musically, "Paris" thrives on its minimalist yet deeply sinister production. $crim (as Budd Dwyer) utilizes minor scales and a heavily reverberated, booming 808 bassline to create an oppressive, cinematic atmosphere. The track is anchored by one of the most recognizable and hypnotic drum patterns in the duo's catalog, seamlessly blending trap hi-hats with a classic Southern hip-hop bounce.

Vocally, the song showcases the stark contrast between the two members, a defining stylistic technique of $uicideboy$. $crim opens the track with a machine-gun stutter flow, employing aggressive and rhythmic syncopation that drives the song's momentum forward. In contrast, Ruby da Cherry delivers his verse with explosive, almost punk-rock energy. He utilizes rapid-fire multisyllabic rhymes and occasionally layers his vocals with harsh, screamed background tracks, bridging the gap between hip-hop and heavy metal. The strategic use of vocal ad-libs (like the repetitive "Ayy" in the intro) creates a hype-building tension that hooks the listener immediately.

"Paris" stands as one of the most significant and culturally impactful songs in $uicideboy$'s discography, widely regarded as a turning point that catapulted them from SoundCloud obscurity to underground superstardom. The track is officially certified Gold by the RIAA in the United States and Platinum in New Zealand, a massive achievement for an independent, highly controversial rap act.

With hundreds of millions of streams and over 200 million views on YouTube, "Paris" became the quintessential anthem for the mid-2010s "SoundCloud rap" era. It heavily influenced the emerging Trap Metal and Emo Rap subgenres, proving that dark, abrasive lyrics concerning mental health and substance abuse could resonate with a massive global audience. The song's infamous bar, "Ruby was a motherfucking reject / Then I cut my wrists and now I motherfucking bleed checks," is frequently cited as one of the most iconic and defining lyrics of their career, perfectly encapsulating the ethos of a generation of youth who felt alienated and disillusioned. It remains a heavily anticipated staple in their notoriously high-energy, mosh-pit-heavy live performances.

The lyrics of "Paris" are saturated with dark symbolism and provocative metaphors.

• The Switchblade and the Dungeon: The imagery of "creepin' out the fuckin' dungeon" with a "switchblade on 'em" symbolizes the constant state of danger and the survivalist mentality required to navigate their environment. It reflects an existence confined to the darkest parts of society.
• Shedding Skin and Turning to the Devil: Ruby da Cherry's line, "Soon I will shed this skin, turn to the devil," is a powerful metaphor for abandoning one's vulnerable human form. It represents a desire to eradicate past traumas and emotional pain by transforming into something entirely devoid of empathy or regret.
• Bleeding Checks: One of the song's most iconic metaphors is, "Then I cut my wrists, and now I motherfucking bleed checks". This violently ironic imagery symbolizes how the duo has weaponized their own depression and suicidal ideation, turning their literal and figurative pain into massive financial success and artistic currency.
• Pull the Plug: The phrase acts as a double entendre, referring both to ending life support—a direct metaphor for suicide—and to abruptly ending the lives of their adversaries.

While "Paris" doesn't feature a traditional pop chorus, several motifs anchor the track in the listener's mind. The opening sequence of aggressive "Ayy" chants acts as a musical motif that immediately establishes the song's hostile and unapologetic energy.

Thematically, the recurring motif of "Suicide" is heavily prominent, not just as the group's namesake, but as a lifestyle declaration. The phrase "$uicide, night time, no, we don't fight crime, oh" serves as a catchy, anti-heroic hook. Additionally, the juxtaposition of extreme violence and sudden wealth is a constant motif throughout the song, oscillating between raw street survival imagery and the nihilistic realization that their newfound riches do not cure their underlying desire for death.