Papaw, the grandfather who became Twitter famous last week after five of his six grandkids skipped a dinner he planned, released a self-titled album Thursday afternoon. Since then, his Twitter fan base has started to dwindle because his followers are confused by the album’s premises.
"It seems like Papaw recorded most of the tracks on this album accidentally," Angel D’Angelo said, using finger quotes as he said "album." "I think he may have left the recorder app on his iPhone open but, however it happened, I don't know how he spun this into a full record deal."
The first track of the album, which is only five seconds long, is just a recording of Papaw’s voice saying, “Kelsey, come over yonder and teach Papaw how to record.” Ending rather abruptly, this leads into the sound of a toilet flushing followed by the shuffling of feet.
Another of his dedicated fans, Jo Trasht, who pre-ordered the album last weekend, was more open-minded about Papaw’s most recent artistic endeavor.
“This album is like if Papaw butt-dialed everyone and left a 10-minute long message.” Trasht said. “I respect him for being so vulnerable.”
Most of his fans speculate that the only track he made on purpose is a monotonous three-minute recording of Papaw saying his name over and over again. The subheading of the album, which reads “It rhymes with Waxhaw,” hints that the redundant track was created so that Papaw can dispel the misconception surrounding the pronunciation of his name.
Kelsey Harmon, the granddaughter who posted the tweet that made Papaw famous, is starting to worry about the effects of his quick rise to stardom. Even though the open-invitation cookout that he hosted on Saturday brought in thousands of dollars, Papaw decided to only buy himself a personalized laser-cut spatula that reads “You’re up in Papaw’s grill,” according to Harmon.
“I've never seen Papaw so into his image. He keeps referring to himself in third person,” Harmon said. “It’s weird.”
Harmon and her cousins think that, in a fit of delusion, Papaw believed himself to be a recording artist, attributing his newfound fame to musical excellence. However, this does not explain the fact that none of the songs on his album actually have any musical instruments or the fact that they appear to be accidental recordings.
The only thing Papaw himself has to say about the album is “Life is a puzzle, and I'm just tryna get a piece.”
Perhaps Papaw thought he was recording at times just before or just after he actually was, or perhaps he really is trying to share the impactful experiences he has on a day-to-day basis. One thing is for sure: Papaw is making the most of his 15 minutes of fame.