"Heavydirtysoul" is a song by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots from their fourth studio album Blurryface (2015). It was written by vocalist Tyler Joseph, who derived some of its lyrics from a poem called "Street Poetry" which he had written and published three years earlier. The track was produced by American record producer Ricky Reed and recorded at Serenity West Recording in Hollywood, California. As the opening track of Blurryface, "Heavydirtysoul" acts as the album's introduction, both musically and thematically. The song contains a self-referential statement where Joseph touches on the concept by candidly addressing its music with self-aware lyrics that give away his insecurities.
"Heavydirtysoul" is an intense, aggressive track in which the duo mix and move between several music genres. The song features high-speed vocals as Joseph rotates from complex rapping to melodic singing to falsetto screaming over soulful drumming by Josh Dun. Lyrically, "Heavydirtysoul" is about asking for help in defeating one's inner demons to become something greater. The song's lyrics convey an anthemic theme relating to self-discovery through being vulnerable.
Following the release of Blurryface, "Heavydirtysoul" subsequently became a hit song. In the United States, the song peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart and reached number eight on the top ten most viral tracks on Spotify. It also managed to top the alternative radio add board for the final week of 2016, becoming the most added song on the radio format. The song received universal acclaim from contemporary music critics. "Heavydirtysoul" was released as the final single from their fourth album in December of 2016.
An accompanying music video for the single was directed by Andrew Donoho and filmed outside the band's hometown, Columbus, Ohio. It features Joseph sitting in the passenger seat of an out-of-control vehicle while playing chicken with Dun and his flaming drum kit. Twenty One Pilots won the award for Best Rock Video with "Heavydirtysoul" at the 34th annual MTV Video Music Awards. "Heavydirtysoul" has since been certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 2,000,000 paid digital downloads.
Background Three years prior to its single release, vocalist Tyler Joseph wrote and published a short poem called "Street Poetry", and lyrics from it were partially used by Twenty One Pilots for the song "Heavydirtysoul." In 2013, Joseph was first filmed performing "Street Poetry" in the open air in London, England. The duo had been the monthly cover stars for Rock Sound and provided the British magazine with exclusive video footage. Some of the lyrics he recited on camera subsequently appeared on "Heavydirtysoul", and it was included as the first song on the band's fourth studio album Blurryface in 2015.
As the opening track, "Heavydirtysoul" acts as an introduction that unveils the fourth album, both musically and thematically. In an interview with Billboard, Tyler Joseph briefly explained "Blurryface", which was both the title of their fourth studio album as well as conceptual character who the record is centered on. According to Joseph, "Blurryface is this character that I came up with that represents a certain level of insecurity. These symbols and having a narrative give people a reason to want to take in the whole album—not just one song." By way of his alter ego, the concept album operates as a cathartic release for Joseph. He began on "Heavydirtysoul" in the song's first verse with lyrics that give away both his self-awareness and insecurities. Alongside the persona, one other primary character was the music in itself. The nature of the music is representative of the psyche of the titular character. "Heavydirtysoul" finds Joseph touching on the concept with a self-referential statement, and it was one of seven songs on the album where he seems to directly address the music.
Recording "Heavydirtysoul" was produced by Ricky Reed and recorded at Serenity West Recording in Hollywood, California. The track was then mixed at The Casita in Hollywood, California and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City. Some of the lyrics for "Heavydirtysoul" originated from a short poem called "Street Poetry," which had been written three years earlier by Joseph. Twenty One Pilots incorporated part of its lyrics, transforming them into a fast-talking song that sports a melodic chorus. The track exemplifies the manner in which the duo mix and move between several music genres on Blurryface. Similar to their previous studio album Vessel, their fourth album was musically diverse and reflective of the wide range of Joseph and drummer Josh Dun's musical tastes. Being an introductory song, "Heavydirtysoul" served to outline the adventurous record. The opening track epitomizes the album's musical elements, containing rap verses, piano-driven refrains and erratic musical shifts. It illustrates how the duo deploy hyperactive shifts, with the song gradually developing, unraveling and going in different musical directions.
Twenty One Pilots later collaborated with New Orleans quartet Mutemath, who had been their tourmates during the Emotional Roadshow World Tour, for a live session known as The MUTEMATH Sessions. Five of their songs were repurposed with new sonics with Mutemath's assistance, giving them a more electronic, atmospheric sheen. Despite the addition of several musicians to their work, the results demonstrate more restraint. Though slight, the new versions stripped away some of the studio technology and polish of their original record production, emphasizing Joseph's vocal abilities and songwriting. Likewise, Dun was also highlighted by a number of jams and extended drum breaks alongside the quartet. The recreated "Heavydirtysoul" track exhibits breakdowns between Dun and Mutemath.
Composition "Heavydirtysoul" is an alternative hip hop song that runs for a duration of three minutes and fifty-four seconds. Within its track, the duo mesh several genres, moving between funk-tinged rock, hip-hop, grandeur pop and soul while flashing R&B hooks and experimenting with electronic dance beats. "Heavydirtysoul" is an intense, aggressive song that features high-speed vocals and complex rapping from Tyler Joseph. His rapid rapping is supplemented by soulful drumming from Josh Dun, generating its heavy beats and groove. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music, the song is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 130 beats per minute. "Heavydirtysoul" is composed in the key of D minor, while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and seven notes, from a low of D3 to a high of C5. The song is restricted to a droning chord of Dm throughout its verses and pre-chorus, changes to a basic sequence of B–Gm–Dm–C at the refrain and follows B–Gm–Dm–C/E during the bridge as its chord progression.
The musical arrangement begins with its introduction, opening with an ambient drone before quickly morphing into a hooky, memorable two-step drumbeat and Joseph's rapped vocals. Following its intro, the rousing song launches into a storm of industrial drumming beneath his speedy rapping over fast, pulsating rhythm. The track bounds into catchy breaks and cascading noise before a throbbing unease arises. The musical arrangement then shifts into a dramatic, piano-driven prechorus. For the chorus, Joseph sings atop an undercurrent of surging energy and scattered percussion. The song's tempo decreases as he starts breaking into a melodic chorus of neo-soul. Joseph invokes screaming in falsetto vocals at the gospel-inspired refrain. Throughout the "disjointed" track, the music shifts from drum and bass fills to arena-oriented choruses and lengthy bass riffs before reaching a heavy rock climax.
Lyrically, "Heavydirtysoul" is about asking for help in defeating one's inner demons in order to become something greater. During the two rap verses, Joseph frantically delivers fast-paced lyrics with quick-tempered rapping. The song's opening verse expresses a self-referential remark where Joseph candidly addresses its music. As he rotates from rapping to singing, Joseph mentions the concept with self-aware lyrics, contending, "This is not rap, this is not hip-hop / just another attempt to make the voices stop." The song's lyrics reveal that deep down, even despite knowledge of one's greatness, aid is necessary in bringing it out or else risk getting lost in thoughts. They serve to convey an anthemic theme relating to self-discovery through being vulnerable. At the chorus, Joseph desperately sings a plea, insisting, "Can you save my heavy dirty soul, for me?" Towards the end, the song's bridge incorporates a tag line harboring anthemic lyrics. Joseph's metaphoric wordplay is haunted by mortality as he sings, "Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit."
Release and promotion "Heavydirtysoul" was released as a single from their fourth album Blurryface by Warner Music Canada in December 2016.
The song was released as the first on the track-listing the first picture disc of their live album Blurryface Live. Their live album was derived from a concert at Fox Oakland Theatre in Oakland, California on October 18, 2016. Twenty One Pilots decided to capture their sold-out Emotional Roadshow World Tour for posterity and closed out the year with the Thanksgiving weekend release of a live album, recorded a month prior at Fox Oakland Theater. It was released exclusively on vinyl record format as opposed to digital download or compact disc on November 25, 2016. The duo later joined with New Orleans rock quartet Mutemath, who had been their former tourmates, to create the extended play TOPxMM, also known as The MUTEMATH Sessions. A new version of "Heavydirtysoul" was included on the EP, which was made available for downloading on December 20, 2016.
Critical reception Sputnikmusic praised the song, writing, "Tyler Joseph alternates between rapping, singing, and screaming like they're all the same, and he even alludes to the idea on the curtain-opening 'Heavydirtysoul' ...Despite the music's schizophrenic nature, it's all true to the Blurryface persona – and in that sense, it's artistic." Describing it as a "rousing number," Cole Waterman from Spectrum Culture considers "Heavydirtysoul" one of the album's four best songs. Chris Willman of Variety regarded "Heavydirtysoul" as the best track from Blurryface. AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung cites the song as one of the album's highlights. Calling the tagline one of Joseph's cleverest turns of phrase, Stereogums Chris DeVille stated the song "morphs from some kind of late-'90s trip-hop/Big Beat thing to a Fitz and the Tantrums song to a monolithic heavy-rock climax without ever inducing whiplash." André Curcic from Renowned for Sound opined, "The track is incredibly disjointed that is what makes the track one of the best on the album. It begins with a fast, pulsating rhythm and jumps into catchy song breaks that come together to create something wonderful." Comparing its grooves to the mid-1990s works of Prodigy, Jason Pettigrew for Alternative Press claimed the track," ...successfully encapsulates all the elements fans have come to expect... 'Heavydirtysoul' is guaranteed to have crowds pogoing from Bunbury to Bonnaroo." He continued saying, "Anxious and frightened, yet trippy and badassed, the duo's blend of fearful and fierce here is stellar." Sharing similar sentiments, Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer remarked, "The opener 'Heavydirtysoul' sounds like The Prodigy is about to rip through your speakers, as drummer Josh Dun goes absolutely ballistic." Emily Jayne Beard from PopBuzz cites "Heavydirtysoul" as one of the songs from the album that "hook you in with [its] instantly memorable beats."