Hot Take: $crim IS the true $uicideboy, Ruby was always just a glorified vocal instrument.
Hear me out, because I know the DUCKBOY defenders are gonna come for my throat.
If you look at their discography, New World Depression was their absolute magnum opus. That was the peak of the "US" era, where they felt like a single, unstoppable entity. But by the time we got to Thy Kingdom Come and especially Thy Will Be Done, the chemistry was completely gone. Every song felt totally disjointed, either entirely "Ruby-bounded" or "$crim-bounded." It stopped being a duo and started sounding like Artist X ft. Artist Y.
But listening to their solo drops is what really exposed the truth.
I listened to Viacrucis and Runaway, and I realized something: That IS the $uicideboy$ sound. All the dark, heavy, dense atmosphere that made us fall in love with the Boy$ comes 100% from $crim. He is the architect. Then you listen to Ruby’s solo stuff and it’s just alternative pop-punk.
Back in the golden days, it was hard to tell them apart because the music felt so cohesive, but now it’s obvious: that "chemistry" was just $crim’s solo vision all along. Ruby was essentially just a luxury feature. He provided a crazy vocal range to paint over $crim’s canvas, but the actual DNA of G59 belongs entirely to $crim.
If you take Ruby out of the equation, you still have the core $b sound. If you take $crim out, the whole G59 mythology dies.