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.

Tank Washington (Photo by Scott Pace)

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.”