Tyler, The Creator – “Call Me If You Get Lost” review

Tyler, The Creator is a 30 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, actor, visual artist, designer & comedian from Ladera Heights, California blowing up a decade ago as the de facto leader of Odd Future. His evolution both artistically & personally since the collective’s disbandment in 2015 has truly been amongst the most fascinating ones I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime, going from the bratty edginess of Bastard & Goblin to the undeniable maturity & versatility shown on Flower Boy & Igor. I have a lot of fond memories of Tyler’s early work back in middle school/early high school, but I do think his last 2 albums are his best ones yet musically. That being said, I’ve been waiting all year for this day to come & I’m thrilled that it has.

“Sir Baudliere” starts off by introducing us to the Tyler Baudliere character over a sample of “Michael Irvin” by Westside Gunn leaving y’all swollen like the Endeavor Group Holdings-owned UFC whereas “Corso” serves as an off-the-wall follow-up “talkin’ that fresh shit”. “Lemonhead” with 42 Dugg of all people has a grimy ass instrumental & the 2 are just flexing, but then “Wusyaname” with YoungBoy Never Broke Again samples “Back Seat (Wit No Sheets)” by H-Town & details falling in love with a woman they just met.

Meanwhile on “Lumberjack”, Tyler takes it back to the “Yonkers” days with it’s boom bap production sampling the Gravediggaz just before he & Lil Wayne jump on a flute heavy beat for “Hot Wind Blows” to talk about landing in Geneva as well as reminiscing on leaving LA for the first time on the spacey “Massa”. Following this is the triumphant spending anthem “Runitup” & after that, Domo Genesis reunites with T on “Manifesto” saying people are fake mad on top of samples of both Jimmy Smith & Nas.

“Sweet” starts off as a neo-soul cut telling this woman how much he loves her with the 2nd half “I Thought You Wanted to Dance” is a duet with Fana Hues that I almost wanna say goes into reggae territory. After the “Momma Talk” skit, DAISY comes in to picture to clap back at their non-believers on the glossy boom bap banger “Rise!” co-produced by Jamie xx leading into the “Blessed” interlude.

The song “Juggernaut” with Lil Uzi Vert & Pharrell is a bombastic homage to the iconic Gucci Mane joint “Lemonade” boasting his last deal was more than Google said his net-worth was while the penultimate track “Wilshire” works in some dusty drums & mellow synths speaking on a failed relationship he had with his homie’s girl for damn near 9 minutes. Finally, the closer “Safari” triumphantly speaks on his influence & impact on music featuring co-production from Jay Versace.

Every album Tyler has ever put out sounds completely different than one another & Call Me If You Get Lost is a fine addition to his discography. He goes back into a more hip hop-based sound in comparison to the poppy vibes of IGOR, but it feels like a throwback to the Gangsta Grillz mixtape days with DJ Drama’s narrations & dude is at his best in terms of the bars on here.

Score: 4.5/5

Polo G – “Hall of Fame” review

Polo G is a 22 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & record executive from Chicago, Illinois rising to prominence a couple years ago off his full-length studio debut Die a Legend. I personally found it to be decent as a whole, but heard major improvements on the sophomore effort The GOAT last spring. And now with 13 months passing since that acclaimed predecessor, Polo’s coming through with his highly anticipated 3rd album.

“Painting Pictures” starts the album off as an endearing homage to Lil Wooski whereas the Einer Bankz-produced “Rapstar” works in a ukulele as Polo talks about his newfound fame. Lil Durk tags along to help say they ain’t ever going back to being broke on the weepy “No Return” even though The Kid Laroi’s hook is wimpy as fuck but on “Toxic”, the instrumental from Taz Taylor has a grungier feel to it as he tells his girl he prefers the streets over her.

Meanwhile on “Epidemic”, we get a glistening piano loop with Polo rapping about how he bleeds mob ties before he & Lil Wayne talk about having the game on lock for the euphorically-produced “Gang Gang”. We go into a more atmospheric direction on the braggadocious “Boom” while the twangy “Black Hearted” speaks on disloyalty.

“Broken Guitars” has an ambitious trap rock fusion in the beat despite the horrible Scorey verse near the end while “Give No Fuck (OKOKOK)” is a drill banger detailing life as a gang member. G Herbo goes back & forth with Polo about wishing for a hero on the icy “Go” while the Rod Wave-featured “Heart of a Giant” has a luxurious instrumental with the 2 talk about being big-hearted people.

Moving on from there, “Zooted” is an off-the-top freestyle with a polished beat whereas “Party Lyfe” with DaBaby is a perfect summertime theme. Wheezy comes through with a reversed loop on the Young Thug-assisted “Losses” as both of them remind listeners that they were cut from a different cloth referencing the greatest WWE superstar ever in former 7-time world champion, 7-time tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker while “So Real” is a country trap joint showing Polo’s vulnerability.

The song “Fame & Riches” with Roddy Ricch is an acoustic tune about them living lawless & “For the Love of New York” is a horrendously tropical romance duet with Nicki Minaj. The penultimate track “Clueless” with Fivio Foreign & the late Pop Smoke goes back into drill territory with the lyrics being about staying true to themselves, but then the closer “Bloody Canvas” vividly details a 14 year old named Ced getting involved in criminal activity & getting 25 years in prison.

Although I don’t think it’s as great as The GOAT was 12 months ago, Hall of Fame still has some high points of it’s own & makes for a decent follow-up to the greatest work of Polo G’s entire career that may not ever be topped if we’re being honest with ourselves. Some production moments feel a bit run-of-the-mill & a few guests don’t stick the landing, although I can understand him finding a new way to reiterate the idea of his status in the Windy City.

Score: 3/5

Lil Tjay – “Destined 2 Win” review

Lil Tjay is a 19 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from The Bronx, New York that got his start by releasing singles on SoundCloud in 2017. This resulted in him signing to Columbia Records the following year & since then, Tjay has dropped a full-length debut as well as 3 EPs. But coming fresh off the 2020 XXL Freshman Class last summer, the kid is following it up by putting out a sophomore album.

The titular opener heavily samples “Who Gets Your Love?” by Margie Joseph as Tjay pretty much says he won’t stop until he comes out on top, but then the next song “Born 2 Be Great” is a dysphoric-sounding ballad about him not letting anyone say he ain’t shit. “Call My Phone” with 6LACK serves as a boring R&B crooner about them being unable to get these women off their mind whereas “What You Wanna Do?” opens up about being sick of playing games with his lover over an instrumental sampling “ONE MAN ARMY” by Melvoni.

The song “Hood Rich” is a piano trap banger with lyrics about his hopes of wanting to accomplish something while “Oh Well” continues to delve into the sounds of the previous cut except Tjay is spitting some gang shit. “Headshot” with Polo G & Fivio Foreign goes into a more violin/drill direction as the trio brag & get malevolent whereas “Gang Gang” piggybacks off keyboard loops as he reps his squad.

The track “Go Crazy” proclaims himself as a progressor over a signature 808 Melo instrumental while “Irregular Love” is a minimally-produced pop rap joint about how his relationship is abnormal. The song “Move” doesn’t sound too bad given the raunchy lyrics that Saweetie & Tyga deliver alongside the stripped-back trap beat from OG Parker & G. Ry, but it didn’t need to be on this album since Tjay hardly has any presence in it.

“Slow Down” expresses a desire to get to know your lover with a cloud rap instrumental from Cassius Jay, but then “Love Hurts” is a tedious anthem about making a relationship work & the Toosii verse doesn’t help either. The song “Run It Up” with Moneybagg Yo & Offset is of course a bland, materialism tune whereas the jangly “Part of the Plan” speaks about focusing on music.

“No Cap” speaks from the heart albeit the instrumental is comatose as Hell while “Life Changed” is an airily-produced joint about moving on to better things. “Nuf Said” sounds like a short, loose freestyle backed by a spacious beat from Jahaan Sweet while “Losses” is one of Tjay’s best songs ever as the pain he expresses throughout is so powerful.

The penultimate track “Move On” sounds like it was ripped off from the BEAUTIFUL THUGGER GIRLS playbook from it’s country/trap production to the lyrics about a relationship coming to an end & finally, the closer “None of Your Love” takes shots at his exes over a synth-laced instrumental from CashMoneyAP.

I haven’t been a big fan of Tjay’s work up to this point & Destined 2 Win doesn’t really help change that because to me, it’s just another mediocre album from him. His personality definitely shines a lot more than it did on previous efforts, but the production choices are very hit or miss & a good portion of the love songs fall flat on their face.

Score: 2.5/5

Russ – “Shake the Snow Globe” review

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Russ is a 26 year old rapper, producer & singer/songwriter from Secaucus, New Jersey who’s released a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014. He wound up signing Columbia Records in 2016 & made his full-length debut a year after with There’s Really a Wolf, quickly becoming one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory. Primarily because of being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s his infamous 2016 interview with DJ Vlad the culture vulture where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. His 2018 follow-up ZOO kinda caught my interest due to “The Flute Song”, but the end result of it being taken over by this annoyingly bitter demeanor. However, my morbid curiosity got the best of me for this new album based on the features & the production credits. Will he finally wow me? Let’s find out.

The opener “NEED A MINUTE” is actually ok as Russ talks about what he’s achieved so far over this mellow acoustic instrumental & while the following song “GUESS WHAT” has a vibrant instrumental from Boi-1da, the bragging on here is more egotistical than charming & the Rick Ross verse is pretty weak. “A LOT MORE” also produced by Boi-1da has a more woozier sound to it with Russ’ verses about having more to accomplish sounding completely genuine & while I can appreciate the uptempo beat on “CAN’T GO ON”, it’s theme about breaking up with this woman is melodramatic to me. The song “ASSHOLE” is a temper tantrum about why people don’t like him similar to that on ZOO backed with a redundant Bugus verse whereas the track “NIGHTTIME” is less of an interlude & more of a poorly-delivered relationship ballad. Then there’s the Kiana Ledé-duet “ALL TO YOU”, which is reminiscent to MGK & Camila Cabello’s “Bad Things”.

The alcohol anthem “SHOTS” doesn’t have the invigorating delivery that I’d normally expect on songs like these despite the vibrant !llmind instrumental & despite the cloudy production on “PATIENCE”, it truly lives up to its title as it delivers more patience-testing relationship melodrama. Not only is “I THOUGHT YOU GOT ME” is about how this woman is unlike any other over a skeletal instrumental, but even Benny the Butcher’s verse on here isn’t all that good & this is coming from someone who’s been praising Griselda’s music for years. Devin the Dude easily has the best feature on the entire album on the song “FOOT ON THE GAS”, which is a decent tune about living life to the fullest. The acoustic/boom bap infused “MOMMA” is a tribute to Russ’ mother that sounds like it comes from the heart & despite the bouncy instrumental on the penultimate track “CIVIL WAR”, the whole comparison of a relationship to a civil war is just corny to me. Then it finishes with “BEST ON EARTH” with BIA, which is another “Bad Things” rip-off.

While it is titled Shake the Snow Globe, it’s not really rocking my world at all. There are aspects about this album that I enjoy more than previous efforts like how he brought some more outside producers to the table as well as more features, nothing about him continues to stick out to me. Especially as a performer & songwriter. I really don’t get how he rips on the current state of hip hop for being too materialistic when he‘s made gotten materialistic on cute himself in the past, including on this album. And while I‘m not against pop rap or love songs AT ALL, I just can’t imagine his take on it getting anyone in that mood.

Score: 1.5/5

Beast Coast – “Escape from New York” review

The Beast Coast are a New York hip hop collective consisting of Pro Era & Clockwork Indigo (the Flatbush ZOMBiES & The Underachievers). All 3 subgroups blew throughout the decade with the strengths of Joey Bada$$’ debut mixtape 1999, Flatbush’s sophomore tape BetterOffDead & The Underachievers’ sophomore album Evermore: The Art of Duality. Now after all these years of making names for themselves, they’re finally teaming up for their full-length debut as a collective.

The opener “It Ain’t Easy, It Ain’t Easy” by AK, CJ Fly, the Flatbush ZOMBiES & Nyck @ Knight talks about their rise to fame over a bland beat while the next track “Left Hand” by CJ, Clockwork Indigo, Joey Bada$$ & Nyck @ Knight takes a jab at their enemies over a druggy trap beat. The song “Problemz” by CJ, Erick the Architect, Nyck Caution, The Underachievers & Zombie Juice talks about their own issues over a mellow beat while the track “Far Away” by Erick Joey, Meechy Darko & Nyck @ Knight gets romantic over a mellow beat from Powers Pleasant. The song “Snow in the Stadium” by CJ, Erick, Joey, Issa Gold, Kirk Knight & Meechy talks about defeating the best over a cloudy trap beat while the track “Rubberband” sees Flatbush & Joey talks about making dough over a gloomy trap beat.

The song “Distance” by Erick, Issa & Joey talks about feeling free over some pretty keyboards & skittering snares while the track “Bones” by Clockwork Indigo & Nyck @ Knight gets confrontational over a perfectly fitting trap beat. The song “Puke” by AK, Erick, Joey, Meechy & Nyck looks back at when they were broke over some somber piano chords while the track “Desperado” by Joey, Kirk & the 2 Dead Boyz get at their haters over some hi-hats & an ominous acoustic guitar lead. The song “1 More Round” by Erick, Joey, Meechy & Nyck is a headache inducing alcohol anthem with a buttery instrumental while the penultimate track “Coast/Clear” by Flatbush, Issa, Joey & Nyck @ Knight is a horrifically executed friendship ode. The closer “Last Choir” by AK, Erick, Meechy & Nyck @ Knight then talks about being blessed to have made it in the rap game over a joyous instrumental.

While we’ve waited a long time for it, it’s pretty decent. Everyone all sounds great collectively & I love how they didn’t bring on any features as a way of showing that, but the production could’ve been better.

Score: 3/5

Tyler, The Creator – “IGOR” review

This is the 6th full-length album from California rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, music video director & designer: Tyler, The Creator. Who rose to international stardom at the beginning of the decade as the de facto leader of the now defunct collective Odd Future with the help of the music video of his breakout single “Yonkers”. Last time we heard Tyler in a long capacity was in 2017 with the release of Flower Boy. Easily his magnum opus & one of the greatest hip hop albums of this decade, where we saw his full artistic & personal evolution with personal lyrics & colorful production. Tyler even saw fit to drop an EP this past winter to coincide with The Grinch & while that was ok, it seems like he’s ready to deliver his long-awaited follow-up to Flower Boy.

The album kicks off with “IGOR’S THEME”, which is a repetitive yet entrancing piece with an instrumental that keeps making well-constructed turns left & right. The next song “EARFQUAKE” with Playboi Carti sees the 2 telling their significant others that they need them in their lives over a atmospheric beat while the track “I THINK” is a catchy love tune with a synth-funk instrumental. After the “EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING” skit, we go into the song “RUNNING OUT OF TIME”. Where Tyler calls out his ex’s true colors over a spacey beat. The track “NEW MAGIC WAND” sees Tyler begging his lover not to dump him over a noisy beat while the song “A BOY IS A GUN” is a soulful tune where Tyler is telling this person he’s here for them.

The track “PUPPET” with Kanye West talks about being controlled by a lover over a blissful instrumental while the song “WHAT’S GOOD” vents about depression over a beat that starts off eerie, but later switches into something more chaotic. The track “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU” starts off as a sunny R&B tune about how his love’s no longer here, but then it transitions into an interlude where Tyler is thanking this ex of his. The penultimate track “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE” is of course a breakup anthem with a punchy yet meditative beat & then the album ends with “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”, where Tyler & Pharrell team up to deliver a slow yet beautiful R&B cut with a fitting Al Green sample.

As I expected from the snippets, this a nice change of pace. Tyler’s going into a more neo-soul direction while fusing it with the sounds of his 2015 album Cherry Bomb. You could compare it to M.I.A.’s ΛΛ Λ Y Λ because Kala & Flower Boy were M.I.A. & Tyler’s most accessible albums & both of them turned around to deliver their most experimental efforts yet. Just another example of why T is the most creative recording artists of this decade. Here’s to whatever he has coming in 2021.

Score: 4.5/5

Solange – “When I Get Home” review

Solange is a 32 year old singer/songwriter & actress from Houston, Texas known for being the younger sister of Beyoncé. Her first 2 full-length outings in the 2000s were average at best, but came back fantastically in 2016 with A Seat at the Table. But now 3 years later, she’s returning out of the blue with her 4th album.

Things kick off with “Things I Imagined”, which is a mellow yet repetitive piece. After the “S. McGregor” interlude, the next song “Down With the Clique” sings about how she comes first & the keyboards from Tyler, The Creator on here are absolutely gorgeous. The track “Way to the Show” is about how this guy can get it over a spacey yet funky beat & after the “Can I Hold the Mic?” interlude, the song “Stay Flo” talks about lust over a settle instrumental from Metro Boomin’ of all people. The track “Dreams” talks about just that over a relaxing instrumental from both Earl Sweatshirt & Blood Orange and after the “Nothing Without Intention” interlude, the song “Almeda” with Playboi Carti sees the 2 listing common traits of black people over some militant drums & beautiful keyboard passages.

The track “Time (Is)” sings about how this guy isn’t for her over some keys & bass-playing while the song “My Skin My Logo” with Gucci Mane sees the 2 complimenting each other perfectly over a bass-guitar. After the “We Deal with the Freak’n” intermission, the track “Jerrod” is a guitar ballad about how Solange wants the titular guy to call her. The song “Binz” talks about how she wants to wake up over a minimalist instrumental while the track “Beltway” is a half-written ballad about how this dude loves her. After the “Exit Scott” interlude, the song “Sound of Rain” is another repetitive piece, but I do admire the atmospheric Pharrell production. Then after the “Not Screwed!” interlude, the song “I’m a Witness” serves as a flawless closer with a prominent bass-line.

This is EASILY a serious contender for the best R&B album of 2019. It’s bit more psychedelic than A Seat at the Table, but it’s just as introspective & lush. Another near perfect example of why Solange is on par (or maybe even better) than her sister.

Score: 4.5/5

Earl Sweatshirt – “Some Rap Songs” review

Earl Sweatshirt is a 24 year old MC & producer from Los Angeles, California who began his career in 2008 under the name Sly Tendencies. He posted a handful of tracks for a mixtape called Kitchen Cutlery on MySpace, but the tape would never be released to this day. Then he formed a rap trio with 2 of his friends called The Backpackerz & planned to release a mixtape together titled World Playground, but they disbanded sometime in 2009. Shortly after, he joined Odd Future & appeared on their 2nd & final mixtape Radical that May. 10 months later, he put out his only mixtape to date Earl with OF’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator producing a bulk of it. The tape received a lot of buzz, but Earl’s mother would send him to a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys in Samoa sometime after until February of 2012. He was then granted his own Columbia Records imprint Tan Cressida Records & released his debut album Doris in 2013 to critical acclaim for his clever rhyme schemes & the gritty production from those such as The Neptunes & even the RZA. He then formed the duo Hog Slaughta Boyz with OF affiliate Na’kel at the beginning of 2015 & released his sophomore album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside a couple months after. Many of which consider to be better than Doris for it’s darker aesthetic. He’s been laying low since then but with the deaths of his father Keorapetse Kgositsile as well as his his uncle Hugh Masekela & his friend Mac Miller earlier this year, he’s putting out his highly anticipated 3rd album.

The album begins with “Shattered Dreams”, where Earl discusses his comeback over a soul sample. The next track “Red Water” serves as a short yet equally gratifying sequel to Solace while the song “Cold Summers” uses some clever gun imagery over a mellow instrumental. The track “Nowhere2Go” talks about depression over a glitchy abstract instrumental while the song “December 24” gets intellectually conscious over a Denmark Vessey instrumental with a prominently gloomy piano sample. The track “Ontheway!” talks about his mood swinging over a smooth guitar sample while “The Mint” with Navy Blue sees the 2 talking about fighting their demons over an amazing piano loop.

“The Bends” touches down on his success over a soul sample & some strings while the song “Loosie” seems to talk about a backstabber over a slow yet funky beat. The track “Azucar” talks about how he’s been coping with his depression over a blissful instrumental from Navy Blue while the song “Eclipse” is about him missing his shine. The track “Veins” talks about keeping faith over an AMAZING Curtis Mayfield sample & after the heartwarming “Playing Possum” interlude from Earl’s parents, the penultimate track “Peanut” discusses the deaths of Keorapetse & Hugh over a settle yet dark beat. The album ends with “Riot!”, which is an instrumental cut heavily sampling the Hugh Masekela song with the same name.

This has been one of my most anticipated albums of 2018 & at the end, Earl has just given what I believe to be the best album I’ve heard all year. I’m a little disappointed that it’s only 25 minutes long, but the Madvillainy influenced production is super creative & Earl continues to prove himself as the 2nd best lyricist of the decade (#1 of course being Kendrick Lamar) by cleverly detailing the darkest year of his life.

Score: 4.5/5

Lil Peep – “Come Over When You’re Sober 2” review

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Lil Peep was a 21 year old rapper & singer from Long Island, New York who blew up in late 2016 with the release of his 4th mixtape Hellboy & then following it with his debut album Come Over When You’re Sober last summer. Both projects were too melodramatic for my tastes, but I could see why it connected with a couple of my friends. But unfortunately, Lil Peep passed away last year just 2 weeks after his 21st birthday of an accidental fentanyl–xanax overdose right before a show in Tucson, Arizona. The rights of his unreleased music were then given to Columbia Records, who are now delivering the long-awaited follow-up to Come Over When You’re Sober a week after what would’ve been Peep’s 22nd birthday & a week before the 1 year anniversary of his untimely death.

The album kicks off with “Broken Smile (My All)”, where Peep vents about his hopes of getting back with this girl over a dark trap beat from his in-house producer smokeasac. The next track “Runaway” talks about getting away from fake people over a cloudy trap beat instrumental while the song “Sex with My Ex” truly lives up to it’s title with the instrumental containing a prominent guitar along with a heavy bass-line & rattling hi-hats. It’s ok. The track “Cry Alone” is a surprisingly solid alt rock ballad about loneliness & while the song “Leanin'” has a pretty acoustic instrumental with a cloudy backing, it’s legitimately upsetting to hear Lil Peep recalling a time where he survived what eventually killed him.

The track “16 Lines” is a drab explanation about how cocaine made him feel better over a murky instrumental with some down-tune guitar strumming while the song “Life is Beautiful” is probably his best song yet. It’s a completely unexpected positivity anthem & the hypnotic instrumental enhances the feeling of it. The track “Hate Me” has a nice bass guitar with some faint skittering hi-hats in background, but the take on his girl going off on him while he’s on the road is too melodramatic. The song “I.D.G.A.F. (I Don’t Give A Fuck)” continues the theme of the previous joint by talking about how he’s not gonna answer her calls, but it’s just boring & the instrumental doesn’t help either. The penultimate track “White Girl” is a chilling ballad about this girl who wants him back now that he’s famous over a trap beat with some sinister guitar licking & then the closer “Fingers” foresees his own death over a trap/alt rock fusion. As for the 2 bonus tracks: “Falling Down” with XXXTENTACION seems like a cash grab for the label since both Peep & X are no longer with us while the original version of that same song with iLoveMakonnen is just plain awkward.

This was honestly better than I had anticipated, but it’s still decent. I do hear an improvement on Lil Peep’s vocals, but only half of the melodrama of his last 2 projects are still present through his lyrics. The production’s just as decent as the last album too with the few incorporations of rock elements on here being the most creative move, but there are some points where the beats tend to be too overproduced. The fans will definitely love this more than me but if this is the last we’ll ever hear from the kid, then it’s a real shame we never got to hear him fully evolve as an artist because the potential of that is clearly shown on here a lot more. May he Rest In Peace.

Score: 3/5

Russ – “ZOO” review

Russ is a 25 year old rapper, producer & singer/songwriter from Secaucus, New Jersey. He’s released a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014, eventually landing a contract with Columbia Records in 2016. He made his full-length debut last year with There’s Really a Wolf & within the past 16 months since that release, he has become one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory. Primarily because of being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s an unignorable interview resurfaced from 2016 where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. All of that aside, I‘ve decided to give this sophomore album of his a fair chance.

Things actually start off with “The Flute Song”, where Russ talks about doing whatever he wants when he wants over a flute-tinged trap beat from Scott Storch. It’s actually not bad at all, but I really just don’t understand why an immensely talented keyboardist & producer like Scott has been collaborating with Russ so much lately. The next track “Outlaw” compares himself to just that over a soulful boom bap beat from Russ himself (who of course produces the rest of the album solely) while the song “Kill Them All” is essentially a temper tantrum in response to the backlash he has received with a generically gritty trap beat & a WWE reference.

“Missing You” is a painful breakup anthem with an acoustic trap beat while the song “Voicemail” is basically him begging this girl to get back to him over an acoustic boom bap beat. The track “Parkstone Drive” is about never giving up over a laidback instrumental while the song “Begging You” is basically Russ telling himself to staying strong over a somber yet punchy beat. The hook is hilarious bad, too.

The track “Serious” is a simp anthem with a moody instrumental while the song “Keep My Wits” egotistically talks about his success over a nondescript beat. The track “Our Time” talks about a long distance relationship over some plinky keys & hard hitting drums while the song “From a Distance” tells this woman to look for someone who has more free time over something Drake would’ve sung over on VIEWS.

“Last Forever” is about longevity over some rich keys & faint hi-hats, but the only things that give it credit are the verses from Snoop Dogg & Rick Ross. The song “Keep It Pushin’” is a sappy description of a teenage relationship with a moody beat & the closer “Fuck That” is another temper tantrum over a beat that generically sounds like something Dr. Dre would’ve produced in the early 2000s.

This is slightly better than anything he’s done before, but that’s not saying much. The production is basic & when Russ isn’t telling melodramatic relationship stories, he’s either being self-centered or lashing out in a fit of bitter rage.

Score: 1/5