Tank Washington, Heal Thyself

Tank Washington plays the role of both therapist and patient in his new video for “Never,” wherein the native Austin MC smokes a blunt on the couch while clearing the air about the problems weighing on his mind: fake friends talking trash behind his back, the competitive nature of the rap game, and poisonous past relationships.

He severs ties with those frustrating factors with an uncompromising hook:

“I will never fuck with you again!”

Ultimately, Washington-the-therapist assures Washington-the-patient: “I don’t think you’re crazy or insane, I really think you’re just going through a lot of pain.” That’s a running theme throughout Washington’s recent full-length debut, Pain, which features fellow LNS Crew members Kydd Jones and Cory Kendrix, plus other prominent Austin hip-hop heads Dowrong, Chamothy the Great, and Jonathas. The rapper’s father passed in October during sessions for the album.

“This record is self-therapy,” admits Washington. “I started Pain off with loosing my dad and I ended it with a song about my kids. Everything in the middle is an update on my life: I partied, I got hurt, I lost, I won.

“It’s just real stuff, man.”