Logic — Vinyl Days

Triumphant party for 90s hip-hop fans in which Logic celebrates the best exponents of the period on a boom bap production that recalls the golden age while maintaining a fresh, modern and compelling sound. The emcee from Maryland is back to rapping with a newfound energy and vitality alongside some big names on the circuit including Action Bronson, Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa, Royce, RZA, Blu, Exile, AZ and The Game. Logic and its historic producer 6ix are mainly responsible for the choice of music.

The record impresses several times in a positive way, Logic does a commendable job both behind the keyboards and at rapping, is more focused and confident than in previous efforts and manages to show off some of the best qualities of him, creating a very satisfying project from every point of view. The guests are an important strength for the record and 6ix & Logic do everything they can to put them at ease, placing several sumptuous dedicated breaks that favor everyone's style. The cut choices of Wiz Khalifa ("Breath Control") and Curren$y ("Clouds") are simply sensational, in particular in the second the guest is greeted by a light crackling drum and a lush and relaxed jazz beat that perfectly matches the laid-back style of Curren$y. Where 6ix and Logic surpass each other is probably at the end, in the song with The Game ("I Guess I Love It"), where a heavenly excerpt from Tom Nehls' "Clean Air" is selected, in what is undoubtedly one of the best tracks on the album.

Nobody disappoints, not even Russ who comes with a decent verse on "Therapy Music". The album starts strong right from the beginning, with Action Bronson overwhelming in "In My Lifetime", then in the final section, Royce electrocutes its track, RZA forces you to consult the translation for white people again, Blu signs a hit in "Orville" on an ethereal sample that pays homage to a cover of the Beatles masterpiece "Michelle", AZ delivers some of his favorite flows in "Carnival" and DJ Premier scratches complete the title track, a choice that travels beautifully and serenely on the sweet melody of "Dinner Source" by Oscar-winner Charles Bernstein.

It's clearly one of the best albums in Logic's extensive catalog, and it's a pity that he was ignored by professional critics who decided to leave the rapper after his retirement from the game and sudden return. Among amateurs, David Crone has detailed well the merits and demerits of the record for AllMusic and I broadly share his thoughts. The cheerful and lively party nature of the record helps to conceal and hide its flaws, such as the short duration of the tracks, ending and flowing in even shorter skits before the listener can fully immerse in them, not exceptional lyrics and the choice of random guests for the skits, including the famous music critic Fantano, about which Logic expressed murderous fantasies over the course of this same album years after the reviewer had — rightly — panned some of his worst records, and whose casual contribution would clash everywhere, but which goes almost unnoticed in the midst of the festive disorder of the project.

Logic finally and controversially exits his contract with Def Jam by releasing this album and, in search of independence, a couple of weeks after its release he signs with BMG. Which isn't an independent label, it's Sony, so he goes from one of the Big Three to another of the Big Three. Seven singles are extracted from the disc, but Def Jam does nothing to promote it, despite the remarkable quality proposed by the author. Within this listening hour, considered excluding the Last Call-esque "Sayonara", Bobby Hall has put together enough tracks that would allow him to have an album on the verge of perfection and maybe he didn't notice, because by removing the skits and a few extra songs, he was holding one of the records of the year in a fairly fluid and clean way, the final section from Royce's onwards is legitimately one of the strongest of the season in hip-hop.

Rating: 8/10.