Museum Music is the second studio album by the American rapper Edward Skeletrix, self-released on January 1, 2025. It was released as a double album. half of the album was released as Edward Skeletrix, while the other half released under the name Im A Monster. it was categorized by critics as rage, a subgenre of hip-hop. It follows Edward's debut studio album Skeletrix Language (2023), and was promoted with an art exhibition in Manhattan. Museum Music received mixed reviews; some critics felt it fit the wave of 2020s underground rap, while others considered its sound unique.
| Museum Music | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Edward Skeletrix version cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:40 | |||
| Producer |
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| Edward Skeletrix chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Museum Music | ||||
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Background and release
editEdward Skeletrix started as a visual project in 2019.[1] He began releasing singles in 2023, and released his debut album Skeletrix Language in December of that year.[2][3] To promote Museum Music, Edward held an exhibition in Manhattan, New York, during which he sat inside a glass box.[4][2] The album was self-released on January 1, 2025. It is a double album; the first side was released under the artist name "Im A Monster", and the second under "Edward Skeletrix".[5][2]
Composition
editMuseum Music is a hip-hop and rage double album.[2] Writing for Complex, Jon Barlas said it was "a call and response; one album doesn't make sense without the other."[4] The Guardian called it "zonked-out electronic rap that feels as if it's on the verge of disintegrating."[1] On its "Im A Monster" half, the lyrics examine mental illness.[5] Museum Music features Auto-Tuned, melodic vocals.[5] The beats on the album incorporate loud, glitchy synths, which Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre compared to Drain Gang and F1ilthy. Pierre also said that the track "Life's So Funny feat. o0o" sounded like a parody of Travis Scott's "My Eyes" (2023). On the song "Label Meeting", Edward calls out the relationship between the teenage rapper Nettspend and his older mentor DJ Phat.[2]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork | 3.7/10[2] |
HotNewHipHop's Alexander Cole wrote that "if this is the direction that music is heading, then perhaps Skeletrix is the Underground's Kanye West." Cole also felt the album "very much fit[s] the current wave of underground rap."[5] Conversely, Barlas, writing for Complex, felt Edward "does something different" with the "vast compositions and ghostly dark-trap" of Museum Music. He highlighted the tracks "Plastic Body" and "Blurry Picture (Psychosis)".[4] In a negative Pitchfork review, Alphonse Pierre described Museum Music as a "big, cryptic troll job." He said that the album had "no vision of an alternative sound or perspective" and called it "just the same kind of ultra-polished, opaque, creative-director rap that anyone could make with a few fashion world co-signs".[2]
Museum Music came in 44th place in The Fader's Best Albums of 2025.[6]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Edward Skeletrix.
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Congratulations" | Witacre | 1:25 |
| 2. | "Typical Rap Song 11" | o0o | 2:03 |
| 3. | "Life's So Funny" (featuring o0o) | o0o | 2:06 |
| 4. | "Blurry Picture (Psychosis)" | prblm | 1:43 |
| 5. | "Plastic Body" | o0o | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Slave Niggas Still Shop at Neimans" | o0o | 1:39 |
| 7. | "Typical Rap Song 12" | prblm | 2:12 |
| 8. | "God Made You a Monster" |
| 4:43 |
| 9. | "Drug Dealer Injects His Fentanyl (Psychosis)" |
| 1:52 |
| 10. | "Skeletrix Island" | o0o | 2:18 |
| 11. | "Drug Story" | lilsony | 1:54 |
| 12. | "Killing Over Likes" | Cavitnak | 1:51 |
| 13. | "Making Art for Money" | o0o | 2:27 |
| 14. | "OnlyFan" | o0o | 1:31 |
| 15. | "Yo Bro Will Kill You for a Band" | Fern Shy | 0:59 |
| Total length: | 33:13 | ||
All tracks are written by Edward Skeletrix.
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "God" | Lush Soma | 2:11 |
| 2. | "Smoke" | Cavitnak | 1:42 |
| 3. | "Real Business" | Cavitnak | 2:24 |
| 4. | "IDGAF" | Fern Shy | 1:42 |
| 5. | "Real One" | Fern Shy | 1:53 |
| 6. | "Sunny Days in the A'" | Fern Shy | 2:11 |
| 7. | "Blue" | Cavitnak | 1:58 |
| 8. | "`confeti" | Cavitnak | 1:38 |
| 9. | "Demons on Twitter Wont Follow Me Back" | Cavitnak | 1:54 |
| 10. | "Pain Pain Pain" | Cavitnak | 2:09 |
| 11. | "667 Know Im Going to Heaven" | Lush Soma | 2:11 |
| 12. | "Garçon" |
| 1:34 |
| 13. | "Life Could Go By Quick" | Fern Shy | 1:45 |
| 14. | "Congratulations (Complete) Only Available on YouTube" | 1:08 | |
| Total length: | 26:27 | ||
References
edit- 1 2 "From Nosferatu to Patience: a complete guide to this week's entertainment in the UK". The Guardian. January 4, 2025. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pierre, Alphonse (January 24, 2025). "Edward Skeletrix: Museum Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ↑ Medithi, Vivian (January 28, 2025). "Edward Skeletrix's compelling Museum Music gives conceptual art a bad rap". The Fader. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Barlas, Jon (January 23, 2025). "25 Rappers To Watch In 2025". Complex. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Cole, Alexander (January 3, 2025). "Edward Skeletrix Re-Invents The Wheel With His "Museum Music" Projects Released Under Different Names". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ↑ "The 50 best albums of 2025". The FADER. Retrieved December 9, 2025.