Seventh solo studio album by Royce da 5'9". Mr. Porter is the main producer, the others rhythms are provided by Akino Childrey, S1, AntMan Wonder, Boi-1da, 808-Ray, Cool & Dre, Epikh Pro, Frank Dukes, Illmind, Fuse, DJ Khalil, Key Wane, Streetrunner, Tarik Azzouz and The Maven Boys. The guests are Marsha Ambrosius, Melanie Rutherford, Pusha T, Jadakiss, Fabolous, J. Cole, Westside Boogie, King Green, Ashley Sorrell, Eminem, T-Pain, Robert Glasper, Agent Sasco and Chavis Chandler.
Taking a cue from "Tabernacle" and other personal extracts from his previous album and some songs recorded in the past, the Detroit lyricist builds a personal album, a 66-minute, 20-track project that mainly addresses personal themes and allows him to open up more to the public. The music is very solid and enjoyable for at least half an hour, the first ten tracks are all very good with some extraordinary pearls, then the music carpet of the disc starts to tear and rend: the production becomes less accessible and less good in coincidence with the rhythms provided by Mr. Porter, whose choices turn out to be average in the first part of the LP ("God Speed"), where they're surrounded by excellent beats, and then become more obviously bad in the second half of the disc.
Among the many brilliant moments, some of the following pieces stand out (all in a positive way but the remix). "Caterpillar". Logic, guest originally chosen for the track, unable to participate, he's replaced by Eminem who destroys the cut with one of what we can now define as "his typical extra-verses as guest", two minutes in which he flows like no one between technique and speed, without ever saying anything, fantastic. A must for fans, Bad Meets Evil die-hards will go crazy. S1 & Epikh Pro have already excelled in "Layers", some of the best soundscapes bear their signature. In "Dumb", they pay homage to "Still D.R.E." proposing that beautiful piano and combining it with a midtempo drum to provide musical support to Royce & Westside Boogie, both great performers. Nikki Grier sings the hook of "Cocaine" on a masterpiece production by DJ Khalil, while Royce provides one of the most soulful and personal cuts of him.
The beautiful, clean, relaxed beat created by 808-Ray and Cool & Dre for "Boblo Boat" gives me Madlib vibes for some reason. Checking out, the sample is Urbaniak & Dudziak's gem-song "A Day in the Park". The Detroit MC delivers together with J. Cole a song tribute to the boat that brings back good memories to him, as already shown in the previous discs. Logic finally manages to be part of the album in the bonus track, "Caterpillar Remix": Royce & King Green do a good job to launch him, but the boy wastes the cut to throw up things for two minutes always on the same story, it's rightly considered the worst rap verse of the year.
Released by the Heaven Studios (Royce da 5'9" label) and eOne, the album gets a very positive response from both audiences and professional critics. It enters the charts around the world, top 25 on the pop chart, top 15 on the rap chart and third among independent products, selling more physical copies than digital ones. Seven singles are extracted: "Boblo Boat", "Stay Woke", "Dumb", "Caterpillar", "Amazing", "Power", and "Cocaine". The album is transformed from a personal project to a solid pop rap album well-executed by Royce, whose rapping technique continues to evolve and improve, also combining sections in spoken-word and sung worthily by the MC. It's a great album, it surpasses the previous one as the best of its solo discography.
Highlights: "Caterpillar", "Dumb", "Cocaine", "Boblo Boat", "Summer on Lock", "Amazing".
Rating: 8/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment