By E. Sawyer
The Coldest Season Ever isn’t just an album title — it’s a timestamp. A dispatch from a moment frozen in pain and thawed in reflection. I first heard it the way it was meant to be heard: not in headphones, but in a room full of energy, essence, and family.
Mutant Academy’s own Henny L.O. and ewonee hosted a pre-release listening session at WhatchaNeed — a nostalgia-drenched Richmond boutique that feels like Black memory incarnate. Think: framed portraits of our icons, Source Magazine from every decade, and a suede couch that swallows you whole. It’s the kind of space that doesn’t just sell clothes — it wraps you in a feeling. And that night, it became both sanctuary and cypher. A perfect place for a homecoming and reunion.
The album they unveiled — a 13-track journey two years in the making — is part therapy, part flex, part field report from a cold-ass season. It’s a love letter to the process: of healing, of homies, of holding yourself down when it feels like nobody else will. Featuring features from Fly Anakin, Big Kahuna, Kaay Taurus, and Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, the project floats between meditative boom bap, jazz-slick loops, and verses that oscillate between boastful brilliance and soul-deep self-excavation.
This is Henny writing through isolation, ewonee curating sound like mood lighting, and both of them refusing to dim. The sequencing tells a story. The tone carries a weight. And if you listen close, you’ll hear reflection disguised as bravado and introspection tucked into every punchline.
To quote Henny’s momma — who might just have the best A&R instincts in the game:
“Alright … with that music, you gonna make some money, so I’m go ahead and retire…. I need that Cadillac.”
Here’s what Henny L.O. and ewonee had to say about making a record born from solitude, built on survival, and blessed by the booth.
The Richmond Seen: What does this album mean to you?
Henny L.O.: “The album is titled The Coldest Season Ever because of it being based on literal troubling times, …when you get in troubling times, you are rising over the conditions, it’s about ambition, it’s about perseverance, it’s about being persistent. And seeing through to the other side. The last song on the joint is called The World Is Mine because that’s how it felt at the end of it.”
TRS: There’s a balance of braggadocio and introspection throughout the project. Where does that come from?
Henny: “It’s how I cope. I wanted to find a way to cope. You cope with repetition. In the most humble yet arrogant way, I am a fly dude. Imma brag about the stuff I get inspired by. I can be inspired by colors, clothing, and conversations with somebody. And they’ll say something and I’m like, That’s a line. Or I’ll buy a new shirt, a new pair of shoes, or a new hat, and that will inspire a line just off what the color is.”
“I take inspiration from everything so the braggadocious side of it just comes from thinking that it is cool to be smart and learn because that’s the type of rap I grew up with. Although I am only 31 I look at it from the perspective of being raised by the cats that thought it was cool to be smart. ”
TRS: You began this project during the pandemic. How did that shape the process?
Henny: “Location. Location changed the whole pace of it. It started in Philly. E was in New York at the time and I had only been home for a few years.We wanted to pick a neutral location. He could’ve come to Richmond, but I didn’t want any distractions and he agreed. So we started in Philly. Honestly we could’ve said we recorded the album in Philly in terms of how many tracks it was . But we just spent the time just continuing to work. And the album ended up being a lot better because what I initially started off with mindframe wise, it just got better. So initially the braggadocio stuff (Philly) is where it came from.” When you hear the initial, like braggadocious on a lot of the songs, that came from the energy that we got in Philly. But that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t necessarily want to make another introspective album because that’s what I’ve been known for. I wanted to switch it up. I wanted to get a little bit more. At the same time, you still got to do you. You got to have your signature. You know what I mean? I’m a reflective kind of guy,. I’m a real private. I’m real somber and gloomy. But at the same time, I could be extroverted, and I can be jovial. You know what I mean? I even throw some jokes and stuff like that. At first I wanted it to be one way. But, then I was like, No I got to do everything.”
TRS: So what’s the medicine of this album?
Henny: “We live in a time of space where mental health is a priority topic, right? Yeah. I didn’t know it had a name. I just knew something was different about me. I realized, the older I got, the same tools I was using weren’t working—even music itself. I never wanted to quit, never wanted to fall back from it, but I just knew it wasn’t working the same. I needed perspective. To just look inward. That’s really the message. That’s why it’s not the Coldest Winter Ever but, I still wanted to pay some homage to Sister Souljah. But, nah it’s the coldest season because sometimes you’ll be alone. It’ll be nobody but you and God. You know what I’m saying? And that’s a cold feeling, but it’ll make you stronger. That’s really what I want people to feel. I want people to see that you’re not the only one that was feeling alone at a point in time dealing with vices and dealing with issues.”
TRS: Talk about the sequencing — how did y’all craft the flow?
Henny: “As far as sequence in the album, that was more me and E kind of ping-pong[ing] back and forth. What you think about this? Nah, this song’s sounds better with that. What you think about this? Honestly, just shuffling and playing a lot of Tetris until it just felt right. Sound right is one thing. All the songs are good. But we wanted it to feel right. We wanted it to have ebbs and flows, but we wanted it to be subtle whereas I like lightning stripes. Like, I like for the joint to go up. But he was like, Nah, we going to go subtle. It was dope.”
TRS: Three words to describe the album?
Henny: “Coldest Season ever”
TRS: ewonee, what shifted for you in the process?
ewonee: “We started with real hip hop beats…the doom doom cat beats. Once I realized Henny was really cool and he might be like the Dos Equis Dude. He lives the family life, owns a Lexus., Right when I figured that shit out, that’s when the album like, changed. And it turned into like what it is right now. Because I was like, he’s cool. So we got to make him seem really cool.”
TRS: What’s the emotional arc of the album from your end?
ewonee: “It gets very braggadocio. Right. But it also towards the end it is very introspective. It closes out introspective because that really is where he thrives. But once I started to see he’s cool, I was like, I’m going to push him here too. But he’s also super introspective. So there was so many good songs that we made. He’s spilling. Like, this is real emotion. Yeah. I can’t get rid of these. Once I made the decision of where I wanted the sound of the album to go. He’s also spilling emotionally. Yeah. So we need that too.”
You can listen to Mutant Academy’s newest project, ‘Keep Holly Alive’ now. Link provided here.
TRS: Talk about the sequencing.
ewonee: “Mutant Academy is doing a lot of things. I know my brother Grey Matter and Unlucky Bastards, his brother have a project with Henny coming up pretty soon. So I wanted to kind of, you know, pass the baton, because I know Grey Matter does that very well. He’s done it well with Domo Genesis, Chuck Strangers. He’s done it well with, like, Navy blue. A couple of people that, you know, are in that introspective, very like, heartfelt vein. So, you know, I kind of wanted to pass up the times to my brother. Yeah. You know what I mean? Because I know that they’re coming up right next, right after this. But also, Big Kahuna OG and Foisey are dropping as well. So. But right after that, I have another album.”
TRS: How would you describe the album in three words?
ewonee: “Coldest Season Ever”
