Public Enemy – “What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?” review

Public Enemy is an iconic political hip hop outfit from Long Island, New York lead by Chuck D. Their first 5 albums are hip hop essentials as what Chuck & company were saying on all of them are still very much relevant today. They ended up leaving Def Jam Recordings in ‘98 after releasing the He Got Game soundtrack, but have put out a total of 10 albums independently. But with everything that’s happened in 2020, the group has seen fit to return to Def Jam for their 16th full-length album.

After the George Clinton intro, the first song “Grid” featuring Cypress Hill finds the 2 groups talking about the current digital age over a funky instrumental from my homie C-Doc while the track “State of the Union (STFU)” takes a jab at Donald Trump over a hypnotic boom bap beat from DJ Premier. After the “Merica Mirror” interlude, the song “Public Enemy Number Won” with the Beastie Boys & Run-D.M.C. is a modern version of “Public Enemy #1” off their 1987 debut Yo! Bum Rush the Show down to the Fred Wesley & The J.B.’s sample while the track “Toxic” continues to take aim at Trump over an doomsday-sounding beat.

The song “Yesterday Man” with Daddy-O ponders what happened to hip hop over a rap-rock instrumental & after the “Crossroads Burning” interlude, the following track is a star-studded sequel to one of PE’s most iconic joints: “Fight the Power”. The song “Beat ‘Em All” talks about being ready to fight over a dusty instrumental while the track “Smash the Crowd” with Ice-T & PMD discusses how great they are over a dynamic beat.

The track “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em Join ‘Em” is a noisy & repetitive interlude while the song “Go at Me” with Jahi talks about revolution over a beat with some more rock influences to it. The track “Rest In Beats” with The Impossebulls pays tribute to all the hip hop legends we’ve lost over a forlorn beat co-produced by Easy Mo Bee. Then before finishing with the “I’m Black” outro, the closer R.I.P. Blackat” is a Flavor Flav solo cut paying tribute to Clyde Bazile Jr. with a melancholic instrumental.

If anyone asks me, this is Public Enemy’s best effort in a while. The lyrical content is as stronger & thought-provoking than ever before, but what makes this stand out more than a handful of their output in the past 21 years is that it’s a lot more well-produced. However, I don’t get why 6 songs on here from the group’s previous album Nothing’s Quick in the Desert reappear on here. Nonetheless, definitely worth checking out for the current times.

Score: 3.5/5

Big Sean – “Detroit 2” review

Big Sean is a 32 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Detroit, Michigan coming up as a protege of Chicago icon Kanye West & signing to his Def Jam Recordings imprint G.O.O.D. Music. He generated some buzz in the late 2000s by dropping the Finally Famous mixtape trilogy, but it wouldn’t be until 2011 when his profile significantly increased when Sean dropped a 4th installment as his full-length debut. This was followed up the next year with the highly acclaimed Detroit mixtape & then a sophomore album the year after that entitled Hall of Fame. However, his next 2 full-lengths Dark Sky Paradise & I Decided. were both mediocre in comparison to all those past efforts. Now the last time Big Sean dropped a project was in late 2017 with Double or Nothing which had INCREDIBLE production from Metro Boomin’ top to bottom, but Sean himself was SEVERELY lacking. But after a couple years of speculation, he’s returning with a sequel to Detroit as his 6th full-length album.

The opener “Why Would I Stop?” speaks on where he is now come over an abrasive instrumental from Hit-Boy & Rogét Chahayed, who had a huge hand in overseeing the whole album. The next song “Lucky Me” opens up on things he’s never talked about over a relaxing beat before a dope switch-up during the 2nd half referencing the inaugural IWGPヘビー級王座, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan while the track “Deep Reverence” with Nipsey Hu$$le sees the 2 talking about being legends in the streets over a spacious beat. The song “Wolves” with Post Malone finds the 2 looking back on how they grew up over a cavernous instrumental while the track “Body Language” is a TWENTY88 reunion about lust over a moody KeY Wane beat.

After the Dave Chappelle story, the track “Harder Than My Demons” talks about how Sean thanks God for everything over a Mike WiLL Made-It & DJ Khalil instrumental sampling the classic Michael Jackson joint “Human Nature” while the song “Everything That’s Missing” talks about heartbreak over a bare piano instrumental. The track “Z.T.F.O. (Zen The Fuck Out)” talks about canceling bad energy over an ghostly Cool & Dre instrumental with co-production from No I.D. while the song “Guard Your Heart” with Wale & Anderson .Paak finds the 3 getting on the conscious side of things over a luxurious boom bap beat.

The track “Respect It” with Young Thug sees the 2 talking about how no one will do them dirty over a vibrant instrumental while the song “Lithuania” with Travis Scott finds 2 boasting over a psychedelic trap beat. The track “Full Circle” with KeY Wane sees the 2 about how everything in their lives/careers have come together over an uplifting instrumental while the song “Time In” by TWENTY88 gets back on the romantic tip over a wavy beat & with what is EASILY the worst hook on the entire album. After the Erykah Badu story, the track “FEED” talks about time moving fast over a murky beat from Boi-1da while “The Baddest” tells his significant other she’s just that over a heavy instrumental with some menacing horns.

The track “Don Life” with Lil Wayne finds the 2 talking about being top dogs over a futuristic instrumental whereas the Friday Night Cypher” is an epic posse cut with constant, perfectly transitioned beat changes featuring a handful of Detroit spitters ranging from Sada Baby & Tee Grizzley to Boldy James & even Bad Meets Ǝvil. Then after the Stevie Wonder story, the closer “Still I Rise” gets on the motivational side of things over a victorious instrumental co-produced by DJ Camper.

The singles leading up had me excited & as for the final product, this album definitely Big Sean’s best work in a while. Not only has the production improved compared to Dark Sky Paradise & I Decided., but you can definitely hear how much he’s matured in the past 13 years & it does a good job of recapturing the essence of that original Detroit tape.

Score: 3.5/5

Logic – “No Pressure” review

Logic is a 30 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & author from Rockville, Maryland who showed quite a bit of potential in the early 2010s with his Young Sinatra mixtape series. His first 2 full-lengths Under Pressure & The Incredible True Story were both solid as well but beginning with the Bobby Tarantino tape in 2016, his discography has been VERY rocky. Mostly because his lyrical topics got trite & he drowned deeper in his influences to the point where it’s distracting. Case in point: His 3rd album ΞVERYBODY in 2017 was pretty much a Dollar Store version of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly & then Bobby Tarantino II almost a year after sounded like a poor man’s Travis Scott album. However, I thought Young Sinatra IV was decent at best & MAYBE he would bounce back going forward. But somehow someway, Logic was able to drop 2 of the worst albums of last year in the span of 6 weeks with Supermarket & Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Of course the backlash both those records justifiably received resulted in him going AWOL & since then, he’s started his own family with a second-wife & conceiving a child together. To focus on that, he’s giving us a sequel to Under Pressure as a parting gift from the music industry.

The album kicks off with the title track, where Logic gets reflective over some old school production. The next song “Hit My Line” talks about hoping God fixes all the bad stuff in the world today over a boom bap beat from longtime collaborator 6ix with some joyous keyboard melodies while the track “GP4” is a lame bastardization of OutKast’s “Elevators (Me & You)”. The song “Celebration” is an ode to his time in the music industry over a soulful No I.D. instrumental & while I like the beat switch on “Aquarius III”, the lyrics are an odd mash-up of “OCD” & “I’m Gone”.

The song “Soul Food II” is a dope revamp of the original “Soul Food” down to the beat while the track “Perfect” talks his shit over a vibrant FNZ instrumental. The song “man i is” talks about being happy with the person he’s become over a sample of Erykah Badu’s “Didn’t Cha Know?”. The song “DadBod” of course speaks on his newfound fatherhood over a delicate instrumental while the track “5 Hooks” charismatically boasts over a dynamic instrumental from Toro y Moi.

The song “Dark Place” talks about his anxiety & depression over a moody beat while the track “A2Z” is a modern take on Blackalicious’ “Alphabet Aerobics” backed by a punchy beat with some haunting keyboards. The song “Heard ‘Em Say” is a motivational anthem that actually goes over & before the spoken word outro “Obediently Yours”, the track “Amen” talks about how grateful he is for everything over a gospel-like boom bap beat.

In the past, a lot of rappers have said they’re gonna retire from making music & almost none of them actually do. But if this truly is the last Logic album, then I’m not mad at all. Easily his best since The Incredible True Story in my opinion. It’s well produced & Logic actually sounds focused this time around. Thank you, Bobby!

Score: 3.5/5

Sunday Service – “Jesus is Born” review

Sunday Service is a gospel outfit lead by Chicago, Illinois’ very own Kanye West. The group was put together earlier this year when the latter became a born-again Christian & he has been going all around the world with them for his weekend live performances of the same name. Kanye just released his gospel debut Jesus is King exactly 2 months ago to polarizing reception & even I myself felt like it was his 2nd weakest album thus far, right behind Yeezus. Reason being because the music on that album was fine, but the mixing was just so horrendous. And just when we thought he wouldn’t drop Jesus is Born over here when it was announced the day before Jesus is King came out, Ye actually stood by his word this time around.

The album starts off with “Count Your Blessings”, where a choir sings about being more positive in your life. The song right after “Excellent” is about how great God is over an organ while the track “Revelations 19:1” is a musical version of the titular Bible passage over some settle piano passages. The song “Rain” completely ruins the SWV joint of the same name & while the track “Balm in Gilead” has a calming instrumental, it sounds like Kanye & company wrote it in less than a minute.

The next 3 songs are all redundant Christianized versions of “Father Stretch My Hands”, “Fade” & “Ultralight Beam” off of Kanye’s 2016 album The Life of Pablo whereas the track “Lift Up Your Voices” talks about giving praises over some low-pitched keyboards as well as handclaps. The song “More Than Anything” speaks on how the only person they love most in life is God & I actually love how the instrumental gets more layered as it progresses.

The track “Weak” talks about how strong their love for God is over some horns later transitioning into an smooth instrumental while the song “That’s How the Good Lord Works” touches down on not questioning God over a beautiful piano instrumental. The track “Sunshine” is all about how Jesus makes their day over some plinky piano chords & intense live drumming & despite the song “Back to Life” having an upbeat instrumental & that I actually like, there’s not much for me to write home about lyrically.

The track “Souls Anchored” talks about being set free over a skeletal instrumental while the song “Sweet Grace” talks about how great His glory is over a more lush instrumental. The track “Paradise” is a ballad about how accepting God will make you at peace while the song “Satan, We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down” is a decent anti-Hell anthem. The album finally ends with “Total Praise”, where the choir predominantly sings the word “Amen” for 3 & a half minutes.

I was really hoping that Kanye would refine what he did on Jesus is King for this new album, but boy I was wrong. In fact, I’d argue that this actually worse than his last album was. I have nothing against gospel music whatsoever & I’m happy that Ye is at peace with himself, but it just seems rushed & that everyone involved threw in as many tracks as they could.

Score: 2/5

Dave East – “Survival” review

Dave East is a 31 year old rapper from Harlem, New York who first caught my attention as a part of the 2016 XXL Freshman Class. This earned him a contract with Mass Appeal Records/Def Jam Recordings & now after 3 years of mixtapes leading up, Dave is finally fulfilling fans’ hopes for his full-length debut.

The opener “They Wanna Kill You” talks about being glad that he never got shelved over a bland Swizz Beatz instrumental then the next song “Penthouse” talks about making it over an uneventful beat. The track “Godfather IV” with Nas sees the 2 trading verses over a classy DJ Green Lantern instrumental while the song “Need a Sign” talks about people acting cool with him now that Dave’s famous over a somber instrumental from araabMUZIK.

The track “On My Way 2 School” reflects on his time in school over a moody instrumental while the song “17” looks back at his adolescence over a woozy trap beat from Timbaland. The track “Mama I Made It” needs no further explanation over an orchestral instrumental while the song “OG” with Rick Ross gets sensual over a luxurious instrumental.

The track “What’s Goin’ On?” with Fabolous sees the 2 spitting charismatic bars over a synth-funk instrumental while the song “Baby” talks about his ride or die woman over a soul sample-inflicted trap beat. The track “Alone” is a trite reiteration of JoDeCi’s “Feenin’” while the song “Everyday” with Gunna sees the 2 talking about their new lifestyles over a dime a dozen trap beat.

The track “Devil Eyes” with E-40 & Mozzy sees the 3 talks about the life in the streets over a grim instrumental while the song “Night Shift” with Lil Baby sees the 2 flexing over a vibrant Murda Beatz instrumental. The track “Wanna Be a G” with Max B finds the 2 talking about a kid who wants to gangbang over slow yet rhythmic instrumental while the song “Me & Mines” talks a homie of his over a jazzy beat.

The track “Daddy Knows” is a touching tribute to his daughter Kairi with a neo-soul flavored instrumental while the song “What You Mad At?” finds Dave angrily going at his haters over a churchy sample that later switches up into a tense boom bap beat. The penultimate track “On Sight” is a decent club banger & then the closer “The Marathon Continues” of course pays tribute to Nipsey Hu$$le over a boom bap beat with some keys.

As much as I love Dave, this was just decent. He’s definitely still a great lyricist, but it’s longer than it needed to be & a bit too focus-grouped for me. Nonetheless, he’s earned the right to make it as far as he has & I hope the album’s gonna do well on the charts.

Score: 2.5/5

Kanye West – “Jesus is King” review

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Kanye West is a Chicago, Illinois icon that really needs no introduction at this point. From his polarizing public image to his damn near flawless discography, the man has really made a continuous & undeniable impact on hip hop within the past 15 years. However throughout 2019, Kanye has been going around the world with his newly formed gospel-rap outfit Sunday Service performing gospel songs & covers of his discography for an hour. But after teasing fans with listening parties for his 9th full-length album for the past month, he’s actually dropping it worldwide.

The album begins with “Every Hour”, where the Sunday Service choir sing about how we always need God over a bare piano instrumental. The next song the track “Selah” talks about looking back & reflecting upon over an organ while the track Follow God” finds Ye encouraging the listener to find a higher power over a College Dropout-esque instrumental.

“Closed on Sunday” makes painfully corny references to Chick-fil-A over a Timbaland instrumental starting off with an acoustic guitar & later switching up into something more minimalist & ominous while the track “On God” uses the titular expression to address his current well-being along with his past comments on the 13th amendment over a Graduation-inspired instrumental from Pi’erre Bourne.

The song “Everything We Need” by ¥$ & Ant Clemons sees the 3 talking about switching their attitudes over an trap beat co-produced by FNZ, Ronny J & Mike Dean with an organ in the background while the track “Water” with Ant finds the 2 talking about purity over a somewhat funky instrumental co-produced by Timbaland. The song “God Is” sings about how the Lord is victorious & gives him power over a soulful instrumental while the track “Hands On” talks about religion being more prominent in Ye’s life over an intoxicating instrumental.

“Use This Gospel” is pretty much a full blown Clipse reunion as Kanye only does the hook, but I’ll take it. Pusha T & No Malice both talk about seeking forgiveness like they never left over some plinky keys, but the sax solo from Kenny G was unexpectedly good. The album then finishes off with “Jesus is Lord”, where Kanye of course sings about his newfound love for Christ himself over some horns.

While I myself am not the biggest fan of gospel music, this is an underwhelming experience. Kanye truly sounds like he’s legitimately happy & finally at peace with himself in comparison to his last 3 albums, but the mixing is absolutely terrible. The closest he did to patching it up like he did with The Life of Pablo back in 2016 was the Dr. Dre remix of the album & that’s significantly better.

Score: 2/5

Jeezy – “Thug Motivation 104: The Legend of the Snowman” review

Jeezy is a legendary 41 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia known for being one of the Big 3 pioneers of trap music alongside T.I. & Gucci Mane. He dropped 2 mediocre albums at the beginning of the 2000s, but it wouldn’t be until 2005 that he made his 1st big break with Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It. An album that completely revolutionized trap, spawned 2 sequels that’re both solid in their own rights & just celebrated it’s 14 year anniversary last month. In light of the latter, Jeezy has saw fit to deliver his 11th & allegedly final full-length album.

It all begins with “the enTRAPreneur”, where Jeezy proclaims himself as just that over an orchestral trap beat from MP808. The next song “Big Shit” charismatically brags over a nocturnal trap beat while the track “Look Like” gets confrontational over a rowdy beat. The song “Better Tell ‘Em” flaunts over a generic beat while the track “Mr. Pyrex” speaks for itself over a nondescript beat.

The song “Already Rich” speaks for itself over an infectious J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental while the track “1 Time” gets celebratory over an unexpected JAY-Z sample. The song “Oh Yea” with Ball Greezy is completely redundant despite the rhythmic beat while the track “White Keys” talks about the drug game over a piano-inflicted trap beat.

The song “MLK BVLD” with Meek Mill sees the 2 boasting over a haunting Lex Luger beat while the track “‘06” with Rick Ross sees the 2 over a luxurious instrumental. The song “Don’t Make Me” talks about designer material over a somewhat jazzy beat while the track “Fake Love” talks about just that over a smooth beat.

The song “All Night” with Gunna sees the 2 flexing over a wavy beat while the track “4Play” is of course a trite sex anthem. The song “Play It Safe” is a sensual follow-up to the previous cut that actually works a lot better while the penultimate track “Don’t Forget” gets reflective over a somber beat. The album then finishes with “The Real MVP”, where Jeezy pays homage to his mother over a beautiful instrumental.

If this truly is the last time we’ll ever hear Jeezy in a full-length capacity, he went out decently. He sounds focused, but the production is hit or miss with me.

Score: 3/5

Rapsody – “Eve” review

Rapsody is a 36 year old MC from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina that rose to prominence this decade with a handful of mixtapes & EPs. Her 2012 debut album The Idea of Beautiful continued to show her potential, but it wouldn’t be until the Roc Nation Records backed Laila’s Wisdom in 2017 that she would truly refine her style & sound almost perfectly. 2 years have passed & she has teamed up with Def Jam Recordings to deliver her highly anticipated 3rd full-length album.

The album kicks off with “Nina”, where Rapsody gets ambitious over a soulful beat. The next song “Cleo” sends a message to the naysayers over a boom bap beat from 9th Wonder sampling Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” while the track “Aaliyah” ponders about that somebody over an Eric G beat with some beautiful background vocals. The song “Oprah” with Leikeli47 sees the 2 talking about being masters over an instrumental with some rubbery bass while the track “Whoopi” gets cocky over a quirky Khrysis beat.

The song “Serena” talks about not stopping over a restful instrumental while the track “Tyra” talking about how fine she is over a woozy beat. The song “Maya” talks about elevation over a soulful yet flute-heavy instrumental from 9th Wonder while the track “Ibtihaj” with GZA is pretty much a modern version of “Liquid Swords” down to the exact same Willie Mitchell sample.

The song “Myrlie” gets conscious over a glitchy vocal sample & after the “Reyna’s Interlude”, the next joint “Michelle” talks about a lady’s party over a funky beat. The track “Inman” with J.I.D sees the 2 paying tribute to black men over a minimalist yet luscious beat while the song “Hatshepsut” with Queen Latifah sees the 2 talking about being the right women for their fellas over a piano-inflicted boom bap beat. The penultimate track “Sojourner” with J. Cole sounds just as witty as it did on Jamla’s the Squad II last winter & then the album finishes with “Afeni”, where Rapsody is talking to abusive men over a grand instrumental.

All that being said, Rapsody gives us another example as to why she’s the best female lyricist in hip hop right now. The production is sweet to the ear & her intelligent bars never fail to amuse me.

Score: 4/5

Nas – “The Lost Tapes II” review

Nas. What can be said now about the renown Queensbridge, New York MC that hasn’t been said already? From his first 2 studio albums illmatic & It Was Written to The Lost Tapes & Life is Good, the man has really cemented himself as one of the greatest spitters in all of hip hop. He is fresh off his overhated Kanye West produced comeback NASIR last summer & now, he’s back with the sequel to his iconic rarities compilation.

The comp starts off with “No Bad Energy”, which is of course a positivity anthem with a Swizz Beatz instrumental with some beautiful background vocals. The next track “Vernon Family” talks about being rich over a funky instrumental from Pharrell & despite the decent braggadocio on “Jarreau of Rap”, the jazzy instrumental is absolutely HIDEOUS! The track “Lost” proclaims himself as a prophet over a lavish boom bap beat from Statik Selektah while the song “Tanasia” talks about a woman over this orchestral RZA beat.

The track “Royalty” is a mediocre dedication to this young queen over a decent Hit-Boy beat while the song “Who Are You?” brags over some keyboards. The track “Adult Film” needs no further explanation & the piano instrumental from Swizz Beatz is pretty while the song “War Against Love” is an ode to Africa with a relaxing instrumental.

The track “The Art of It” talks about smoking weed over a funky boom bap beat from Pete Rock while the song “Highly Flavored” talks about his fate & the sample that RZA uses is very creative. The track “Queens Wolf” talks about his evolution over a DJ Toomp instrumental with some prominent keyboards & strings while the song “It Never Ends” talks about ongoing violence in the hood over an ominous piano instrumental from The Alchemist.

The track “You Mean the World to Me” is a corny story about a woman that leaves her partner just to be with Nasir over a Kanye instrumental that samples “Don’t It Make You Feel Good?” by Leroy Hudson while the penultimate song “Queensbridge Politics” pays tribute to Prodigy over a boom bap beat from Pete Rock with some dark piano keys. The album then finishes with Beautiful Life”, where Nas addresses Kelis’ slander towards him over a luxurious No I.D. instrumental.

Been a long time waiting on this album & at the end, I think it’s pretty dope. The production is better than half of the albums that they were originally made for & Nas’ pen game overall is a step up from NASIR.

Score: 4/5

Logic – “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” review

This is the 6th full-length album from Maryland rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & now bestselling author: Logic. Who is fresh off his debut novel Supermarket a couple months ago with a completely unlistenable indie pop album with the same name accompanying it. Now that being said, my opinion on Logic & his music haven’t always been negative. He showed a lot of potential in the early half of this decade with his Young Sinatra mixtapes as well as his first 2 studio albums Under Pressure & The Incredible True Story but since 2016, he has shown himself to be HIGHLY inconsistent. Mostly because his topics have gotten corny & that he’s drowning deeper in his influences to the point where it’s distracting, whether that be his 2017 album ΞVERYBODY sounding like a Dollar Store version of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly or his Bobby Tarantino 2 mixtape sounding like a poor man’s Travis Scott album. Nonetheless, my morbid curiously got the best of me for this new record over here & I decided to give it a shot.

Despite claiming to be in his own lane on the title track that kicks the album off, it literally sounds like a J. Cole song down the flow & the symphonic beat that 6 brings to the table. Then we have “Homicide”. Easily the best single of the 3 that were released prior to the album, but still average. The intro about Logic coming out of his dad’s balls is annoying, his lyrics dissing trap music is hypocritical because we all know Logic’s been rapping over this style of production for the past few years now. Also, his speedy flow is a blatant rip-off of Tech N9ne’s & the beat is kinda bland. But luckily, Eminem‘s closing verse is enough to make the cut decent & I love how they sampled Chris D’Elia’s viral impersonation of Marshall for the outro. Didn’t mind Logic referencing referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair either.

“Wannabe” is a barely finished look at people who seek attention online with a decent beat for the clubs while the song “clickbait” talks about the comments he receives over generic trap beat, a horrific delivery & a cringey line about he’d suck dick. The track “Mama (Show Love)” with Cordae sees the 2 telling their mothers to look at them now over a dark, druggy beat while the song “Out of Sight” does have a decently spacious beat, the lyrics are vapid to me. The track “Pardon My Ego” gets insipidly narcissistic over a Middle Eastern-influenced beat while “Commando” with G-Eazy is less of a song & more of a contest to see who can be more basic.

The track “Icy” with Gucci Mane sees the 2 charismatically talking about how clean they are over a smooth beat while the song “Still Ballin’” with Wiz Khalifa serves a pretty decent sequel to a highlight off of Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever. The track “Cocaine” hilariously talks about selling drugs over a piano & some heavy bass while the song “Limitless” is another redundant materialistic brag.

“Keanu Reeves” whines about the criticisms that Logic’s justifiably gotten over the past few years while the song “Don’t Be Afraid to Be Different” is a sappy motivational anthem despite the infectious instrumental & Will Smith’s verse at the start is easily the most awkward feature I’ve heard all year. The penultimate track “Bobby” is an egotistical ode to Logic himself with an old school instrumental & then the album finishes with “Lost in Translation”, which is actually a heartwrenching high-note to end on both lyrically & sonically.

Yeah I don’t know what else to say beyond that, this is yet another mediocre release in Logic’s ever-growing catalogue. The production is mostly just passable & the concept about social media does sound interesting but unfortunately, it seems like he loses focus of that narrative along the way in place of songs with laughable topics. I really don’t know where he goes from here & that’s sad for me to say as someone who’s appreciative of his early work.

Score: 1/5