Worcester, Massachusetts rapper & singer/songwriter Joyner Lucas back with his sophomore full-length LP nearly 4 years to the day of his debut ADHD. Somebody who first came to my attention in late 2016 with an incredible verse on “Sriracha” off of Tech N9ne’s 17th album The Storm, he exposure would increase the following year with the single “I’m Not Racist” along with a verse on “Lucky You” off of Eminem’s 10th album KAMIKAZƎ the year after that & ADHD was released during the COVID lockdowns to negative feedback from both critics & fans. Not Now, I’m Busy was said to be cancelled last summer & is releasing it now that spring’s approaching.
The cloudy trap intro “Put Me On” bites the “turned your bird into a ex, I feel like Elon” line from Freddie Gibbs’ verse on “Back to Me” off of ¥$’ debut album Vultures whereas the instrumental on “I’m Ill” sounds like some generic club shit looking to get in his zone. “Waiting on This” works in horns & hi-hats much like “Trophies” or “Laugh Now, Cry Later” by Drake telling y’all “The day that you bastards’ll play me will be thе same day me & Jennifer Lopez announce that we gon’ be havin’ a baby” just before “Broski” is a decent conscious hip hop/contemporary R&B crossover talking about a childhood friend of his.
“Fake Promises” advises to separate yourself from all the noise stripping the drums completely over an atmospheric backdrop while “When I Need Love” heavily samples “Who Can I Run To?” by Xscape to deliver a trite pop rap ballad. “Cut U Off” featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again gives off this blandly eerie trap vibe getting boastful with YoungBoy having the better performances of the 2 leading into “What’s That?” dropping cringey bars like “I gotta lift the weight, tell all my bench to press” or “It’s a wrap that’s word to Chipotle” over a decently dynamic trap beat.
Conway the Machine murders Joyner on his own shit with the boom bap/chipmunk soul crossover “Sticks & Stones”, but then “Best for Me” featuring Jelly Roll on the hook sends a profoundly touching message to someone in his life that he really cares about being caught up in drug addiction. “I Didn’t Go” featuring the late DMX & Symba finds the trio discussing getting rich being their only plan over a dreamy boom bap instrumental while “3 Little Pigs” talks about 3 cops & the beat here kinda sounds Daringer-influenced.
“24 Hours to Live” overdramatically explains what he would do if he only had a day left on Earth shifting gears back into trap territory mixing some pianos into the fold while “Still Alright” featuring Logic & Twista shoots for a dreamier approach sonically showcasing speedier flows. “17” ruins one of my favorite Mac Miller songs “Donald Trump” previously praying for times like this while “How Much Do You Love Me?” prior to the titular outro gets back in his annoying pop rap bag.
I really did see the potential in Joyner almost a decade ago when he first started getting more exposure, but waiting 4 years in-between every album & releasing half of it as singles building up to release day still isn’t quite the solution to rolling out a significant body of work. Much like ADHD, what we have from him is another disappointment. The features are ok, but the production feels flat & every some of the lyrics at times also.
Score: 2/5
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