Unapologetic, dramatic, and emotionally charged, “LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” is an intense eruption of vulnerability and zeal from SIPHO.’s innermost depths – and an undeniable standout off the UK artist’s recently-released debut album, ‘PRAYERS & PARANOIA.’
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“LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” – SIPHO.
It’s brash, and psychotic, and in your face, but in a classy way.
“Taste the bitterest part of me, ain’t got too long ’til I’m dead,” SIPHO. sings hot on the mic, his voice an intense beacon of raw energy and heated passion. “So won’t you do what you said, before you say it again?” The air is tense, the beat urgent and unrelenting as the Birmingham-based multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter resolves to let his guard down and share a piece of himself in a soul-stirring, spiritual reckoning. Intimate, unapologetic, and emotionally charged, “LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” is an intense eruption of vulnerability and zeal from SIPHO.’s innermost depths. It’s a churning, no-holds-barred moment of truth, casting off any pretense and shedding all masks so that we may experience someone for who they are: Human, flawed, and imperfectly perfect.
And – perhaps most of all – it’s an absolutely astounding display of SIPHO.’s breathtaking vocal and lyrical talents.
Taste the bitterest part of me
Ain’t got too long ’til I’m dead
So won’t you do what you said
Before you say it again?
Oh, it’s that sweet little part of me
That wants to feel you a second more
So won’t you wish me your worst?
Then lay me down in your curse, your curse
‘Cause I can’t live with no regrets
So come and taste it on my lips
The bittersweetness of revenge
But I’d still do it again
Do it again
I got no regrets, I got no regrets
I got no regrets, I got no regrets
I’d do it again, do it again
Released as a single in early September, “LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” is one of the standout tracks on SIPHO.’s recently-released debut album, PRAYERS & PARANOIA (out now via Dirty Hit). Following the Birmingham-based artist’s first two EPs – 2017’s I DON’T DESERVE HER (2017) and 2021’s AND GOD SAID… – the 45-minute PRAYERS & PARANOIA finds the English multi-hyphenate rising high and sinking low as he explores what living means to him – sharing his own complexities and the many different sides to his artistry on a record that is at once a coming-of-age, an exploration of egotism, and a pointed, critical observation of humanity at this complex juncture in our long history. Ultimately, SIPHO. says the album is hopeful – and he himself is still figuring all that “life” stuff out.
“I’m neither an adult nor a child now,” he shares. “I’m in that space in between. It’s not just doing society-based activities, but it’s about showing up for people, it’s the what-if of how I navigate my thoughts around life. I want to be grounded. It’s the contemplation and praying to land in a good place.”
Now I got you oozing from the fever
That you get when you losе your mind
Go ‘head and try somebody elsе
Can’t have my sweet sensations
Don’t you cry now, ’cause it’s alright
I’ve seen it all before
Full of pride now, till it dies out
And it’s all mine, all mine
‘Cause I can’t live with no regrets
So come and taste it off my neck
The bittersweetness of revenge
But I’d still do it again
Do it again
I got no regrets, I got no regrets
I got no regrets, I got no regrets
I’d do it again, do it again now…
“LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” is a particularly visceral, bold, and unashamed display of humanity in its most unbridled and unabridged form; SIPHO. performs vocal acrobatics as he declares that he can’t live with no regrets – which, if we parse the double-negative, is him saying that he can live with regrets; in other words, he’s not opposed to doing things that may come back to bite or haunt him in the end.
To be clear, this song is not entirely autobiographical – the artist wants folks to know that he is not necessarily a spitting-image of the song’s unrepentant narrator. SIPHO. says it’s a character piece, “but almost a part of me.”
“It’s a nice little moment for me to be saucy and devious,” he tells Atwood Magazine. “It also doubles as a moment of delusion and grandeur. So it does lean into that very human side of us, but acknowledges the chaos that can come with it. And when you put such a trippy, funky beat to it, you’re asking for something special to happen. You know what I mean?”
“It’s me being an overt kind of villain,” he adds. “Sometimes you have to be mean — like, ‘I did this thing for myself, my bad.’ It’s brash, and psychotic, and in your face, but in a classy way.”
That class reaches its climax in a fiery, cathartic breakdown as SIPHO. chants an impassioned confessional:
I want you here to feed my soul
I got that thing you can’t control
Flows through your body, can’t let go
Can’t curse me, keep your mercy
This song, in particular, is acknowledging that sometimes I am the ‘bad guy’, but sometimes you have to make your peace with that knowledge
It’s incredibly hard for individuals to admit when they’re wrong, let alone when they’re actively making the choice to be the “bad guy” in a situation. SIPHO.’s song is mature in that way, insofar as he admits to being in the wrong, knowing he’s in the wrong, and acting in the wrong anyway. Those seven deadly sins of Christian teachings come to mind… Are there moments, during our days, when we choose to be gluttons, or succumb to our pride? How often do we let loose our wrath, and indulge in greed or vanity?
Radically self-assured and empowered, “LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” holds the mirror not just up to SIPHO.’s soul, but to us, his audience. The artist has delivered in this song a stunning reflection on what it is to be human, and if we can get past our incessant urge to be perfect all the time, then maybe we, too, can admit to being the villain or the bad guy, own up to our shortcomings and grievances, and live a more honest, imperfectly perfect life.
“LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” and SIPHO.’s stunning debut album PRAYERS & PARANOIA are out now via Dirty Hit.
But I’d still do it again do it again
I got no regrets, I got no regrets
I got no regrets, I got no regrets
I’d do it again, do it again, now I…
I got no regrets…
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“LOCK IT IN (NO REGRETS)” – SIPHO.
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© Marco Grey
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