Lu Chin Chen
NA Meeting
Buy via Bandcamp | Listen Below
Even nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, there’s still a lot of stigma attached to addiction. However, with the rise of the opioid crisis, our society as a whole has started to shift to allow the discussion about addiction issues in ways that are a bit more nuanced. With his newest project, NA Meeting, rapper Lu Chin Chen delves into the many complexities and ramifications that opioid addiction entails, fashioning a tale of pain and tragedy.
Raised in cities throughout the north shore of Massachusetts, Lu has been active in the hip-hop scene since the late 1990s. He’s been especially active since the late 2010s, putting out such releases as House Money (2018), Deja Lu: That ’90s Show (2019) and the Lu Turnz EP (2019). NA Meeting is his first concept album, and one of his best efforts. It’s an unflinching look at addiction, with Lu showing arresting levels of depth as he plumbs the physical and psychological tolls associated with it.
The project unfolds like a particularly grim episode of Intervention or Ozark, told in flashbacks by the narrator “Alex” while attending one of the nominal NA Meetings. Things begin as happily married Alex breaks his leg during a shift on his job as a mechanic with Cadillac and is prescribed numerous different opioids in order to recover. Stuck at home, he starts abusing the drugs, and everything rapidly spirals out of control. His wife kicks him out of their home, and he turns to a life of crime after his prescription runs out, eventually forced to go on the lam. He cleans up and tries to live the sober life, but he finds himself unable to readjust.
NA Meeting’s production is handled by Conflikt, a Canadian beatsmith affiliated with the group Hellzwind. Conflikt is excellent behind the boards, creating beats that set the album’s mournful tone. Lu also enlists a plethora of hip-hop greats, many of whom got their start in the 1990s but remain active today. The roster includes Planet Asia, Tash of Tha Alkaholiks, Masta Ace, A.G., Rock of Heltah Skeltah, Kool Kim of the UMC’s, Nine, and many others. Their skills help bolster the album, but Lu’s skills and voice still carry NA Meeting.
NA Meeting’s greatest strengths lie in its storytelling and the emotions that Lu and his guests convey. Through the album’s opening few songs, he shows how slipping into opioid abuse can happen almost unintentionally. On “Make Me Sane,” he and Planet Asia demonstrate how the boredom, cabin fever, and eventually depression of being stuck at home while injured led to the abuse of Percocet, Vicodin, and Oxycontin. Lu follows that up with “Outta My Mind,” featuring Mr. Cheeks and A.G., as they describe the fleeting bliss that narcotics can provide. “The way it’s designed, and my feelings combine together feel like heaven,” A.G. raps. “It’s the curse and the blessing.”
NA Meeting’s emotional core comes with the album’s back half, after “Alex” hits rock-bottom and decides to get clean. With “Grimeball,” he copes with how far he’s fallen since getting hooked, while “The Meeting” functions as an actual Narcotics Anonymous meeting. In the latter, Tash provides a revelatory verse, vividly describing the circumstances that led him to finally quit drinking.
Lu portrays how difficult the recovery process can be, struggling first with harsh withdrawal symptoms on the haunting “End of the Line.” The combo of “Nothing Matters” and “Coma Dose” is where NA Meeting hits its peak, achieving a lasting level of resonance and poignancy. On the former, Lu is joined by Craig G and Masta Ace, who vent the frustrations that come with working to get clean for six months, only to have all those close to you still view you as an addict.
Alex relapses and resolves to end his own life on “Coma Dose,” consumed by depression and unable to envision his own salvation. “Misery is abundant, my escape from it is getting numb,” Lu raps. “I'm comfortably slumped in my seat, punctured and plummeting / Sinking and feeling warm in my soul, it's like my soul is the sun / Wait, Sun is Sol in Spanish, I’m soaking it up like I’m a black hole.”
With NA Meeting, Lu flips every necessary switch. The album channels his own voice and leverages the guest emcees in a way to enhance the stories. And his partnership with Conflikt creates the desperate, often claustrophobic mood. It’s a powerful step for Lu as an artist and definitely leaves the listener looking forward to his next endeavors.
Notable Tracks: “Coma Dose” | “Make Me Sane” | “Nothing Matters” | “Outta My Mind”
BUYNA Meeting via Bandcamp
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