Bas is a 36 year old Sudanese-American rapper & songwriter born in Paris, France & raised in Queens, New York who emerged in 2011 by putting out his debut mixtape Quarter Water Raised Me. The 2013 sequel Quarter Water Raised Me 2 would catch the attention of J. Cole, who shortly after helped Bas become the 2nd act after Omen other than Cole himself to sign to his Interscope Recordsimprint Dreamville Records. He would introduce himself more to the Dreamville fans the next spring on the moderately received full-length debut Last Winter & the sophomore effort Too High to Riot couple years later won them over, as it’s still the most critically acclaimed body of work in Bas’ discography to date. His previous LP Milky Way in 2018 was also treated to mild reception as were the couple of EPs that he’s given us since then Spilled Milk & [BUMP] Pick Me Up, but the highlights on those last few projects had me holding out hope that Bas would reach the heights that Too High to Riot did once again.
“Light of My Soul” starts the LP with a drumless loop from Boi-1da sampling “We’ve Got a Way Out Love” by The Originals confessing that he has a problem makin’ other people’s problems his own whereas “Black Jedi” likens himself to Mace Windu shifting gears with it’s trap instrumental. “Choppas” talks about going round like the helicopter working in a cloudy backdrop & hi-hats just before “Home Alone” featuring J. Cole produced by T-Minus & Cubeatz serves as a vibrant dedication to the people that switched up on them, the women they miss, the ones they I love, the ones that stayed & the seeds that we growin’ although Bas feels like he’s been featured on his own track.
Meanwhile, “Risk” takes a smoother approach sonically detailing a relationship with a woman in which he took a risk with because she was almost too perfect at first until distancing herself from him leading into “Decent” featuring Amaarae talking about being 100% the same as they were when they started over a spacious trap beat. “Ho Chi Minh” gives a look at Bas’ emotional & mental state as well as his experience with substance abuse over a solemn instrumental, but then “179 Deli” featuring AJ Tracey dabbles with the UK drill sound a bit telling y’all to stay with them for the ride.
Cole returns on “Passport Bros.” for a mediocre pop rap/dancehall fusion with some afrobeats undertones & I say it’s mediocre because my biggest problem with it personally is that both of Bas’ verses feel underwritten although I’ll still take it over “Testify” featuring Sha Sha since it continues to expand on that dancehall vibe singing that they’re gonna “fuck each other right”. The atmospheric “U-Turn” featuring A$AP Ferg & Blxckie breaks down a woman who had them running back with Ferg having the better of the 2 guest performances prior to the final J. Cole appearance on the album “Papers Cuts” groovily asking if you dumb.
“Diamonds” looks to take a leap as artist have to continually explore & give more of themselves to feed the insatiable appetite of the audience on top of some summery acoustic passages while “Yao Ming” boasts that he got racks as tall as the iconic Houston Rockets player of the same name over soulful background vocals. The song “Dr. O’blivion” is more stripped-back thanks to Cole himself explaining that “she don’t want none of the madness you come with” while the penultimate track “Khartoum” is a powerful ballad about the ongoing war in Sudan featuring Adekunle Gold on the hook. “Wait on Me” ends the LP on a melodic note singing that he loves the moments you spending with him.
I remember upsetting a couple Dreamville fans after the Milky Way review because I still believe it’s the most commercial body of work I’ve heard from Bas, but We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up happens to be the most I’ve enjoyed a project from the guy in about 7 & a half year. Those pop rap/trap elements from that previous album make their way over here once more except this time, he’s mixing them with some new sounds that he’s trying out like dancehall or afrobeats.
Score: 3.5/5
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