When Henry Kaczman injured his calf in his senior year of high school, he discovered an outlet for his anxiety: rapping.

To compensate, he would spend his time rapping along to songs he liked listening to, and eventually began writing his own original material. Today, he goes by the stage name Concept Residue.

“Concept means ‘idea’ and residue means ‘what’s left over,’” said Kaczman, who is from Connecticut. “My raps are kind of like leftovers of what I’ve been thinking about lately.”

Now a sophomore double major in psychology and biology at Syracuse University, Kaczman compares the art of rapping to engineering. He mechanically breaks down words while simultaneously making sure the rhyming and rhythms are in sync. His dream is to combine psychology and rap to be either educational or therapeutic.

Since the start of his rapping career, Kaczman has released two EPs, “Concept Residue” and “In Confidence,” as well as a nine-track mixtape. He featured fellow artists on his first two EPs, but then decided to move away from this approach for his most recent album.

“If I do a story, I want to be able to control the beginning, middle and end,” he said. “I could pass it off, but it wouldn’t be as cohesive.”

Concept Residue’s new album “Shent,” which was released on Monday, tells the story of two childhood friends and how they grow up together. Eventually, one of their lives begins to go downhill.

“I was just thinking of what the story of the album sounds like in one word and ‘shent’ popped into my head, even though I’d never heard of it,” Kaczman said. “I looked it up and it was a really old word that used to mean shame. I thought it was perfect because it fits the lead character’s descent into corruption, ultimately ending in shame.”

The 10-track album relates to aspects of Kaczman’s life, his friends’ lives and topics in the media, all morphed into one story.

When writing the lyrics for “Shent,” Kaczman said he wanted to step outside of himself and become other characters. He took his personal feelings and applied them to a greater scenario where they could be exaggerated.

“OG Uno Ojo,” Kaczman’s favorite track from the album, was a challenge on both artistic and emotional levels. He said it was difficult to rap not only because it is a slower tempo, but also because the sentiments of the character don’t align with his own beliefs.

When producing the tracks for “Shent,” Kaczman received help and feedback from his friend, Leo Marino, despite the fact that he is thousands of miles away in Strasbourg, France.

“Now that we’ve got all the kinks worked out, I can see a long distance collaboration over a six-hour time difference is nothing to shy away from,” Marino said in an email. “We work well together and are not afraid to tell each other if something isn’t really working.”

Marino produced the beats for “Existing” and “The Wharf,” the first two tracks on the album. He also provided the drawing for the album cover and played bass on the chorus third track of “Shent,” titled “Need.”

“Shent” is a significant upgrade from his first EPs. Kaczman went from recording at his friend’s house to recording at StudioDOG Pro on Fayette Street in downtown Syracuse. He spent most of his freshman year at SU making the trip from campus to the studio.

When recording at StudioDOG, Kaczman was given the opportunity to choose from and incorporate a selection of supporting vocals, drums and bass lines. He is inspired by artists such as Tech N9ne, Alice in Chains, Immortal Technique, !Mayday! and Statik Selektah.

While Kaczman has performed at Schine and Funk ‘n Waffles, he prefers the studio to the stage because he can record the tracks as many times as needed until he is satisfied, he said.

“Rapping gives me a sense of accomplishment,” Kaczman said. “It distracts me from unnecessary worrying that I tend towards.”

He has since recovered from his high school injury, and said he feels lucky to now have both rap and exercise as outlets.

Said Katzman: “I don’t regret getting that injury — otherwise I wouldn’t have found a pull towards rapping.”

Published on January 19, 2016 at 10:53 pm

Contact: rcplaut@syr.edu