If you’re an emotional masochist like me who steers into the skid by listening to sad music when it’s cold out and your vulnerability is at its peak, you might be as big a fan of Letters I Never Gave You as I am. 20-year-old Finesse, a rapper, producer and videographer out of Long Island delivered this six-track collection earlier in December, but it’s the way in which he pours himself out that could very well carry this project deep into 2019.

If the EP’s title doesn’t give away that this is about lost love, the intro track “Girls Are The Worst Drugs” should give it away. The same way you can experience a great high and bad come down, or vice versa, is the same way he feels about his past lover. He cared about her heavily, to his detriment and now he’s dealing with the fallout. It’s an upbeat cut similar to that of “XO Tour Life” but there’s nothing lit about this experience other than the hope to move past it.

The title track may be the most impactful, as he tells a story of all the letters he wrote for a woman with the intent to get her back. Over time, the letters became his form of therapy. It’s beautiful, real, and a gut punch. He has to watch his old girl happy with another guy, and everything he feared about her became true. So, the letters were never given to her. “Trying to figure out just how long forever is in your world” is a dagger. That word gets thrown around and people believe it, only to have the rug swept from under them. I feel for you dawg.

The muffled vocals to open “Forgetting September” give me the feeling of a scorned lover calling out to the object of his affection but no matter what he isn’t heard. “I can’t deal with the torture of being an option” is real ass shit. There isn’t a part of this canvas left untouched. The slowed down hi-hats and synths create a somber tone and with each beat, you’re drawn more and more into his world. I was genuinely sympathizing with Finesse at this point and ready to find whoever broke his heart so we can air her out on Twitter.

The sequencing and construction of the project couldn’t have been any better, and it comes as no surprise since Finesse has been doing this music thing since the age of 15. Humbly beginning with just a microphone and Fruity Loops, he’s been refining his skills for years now. Residing currently in Queens, he’s committed to continuing to get better and delivering us music we can identify with.

Thanks for making me cry in the club, Finesse. Y’all go check Letters I Never Gave You out and maybe the same will happen to you. “It is me I gotta know? Am I the one on your mind?” Whew.