Logic is a 24 year old rapper from Maryland, who first generated a lot of buzz from 2011 - 2013 from his mixtapes, Young Sinatra, Young Sinatra: Undeniable and Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever. It's very clear his style is inspired from East Coast 90's rap, from his blistering flow and quick rhymes. His downside though, his that he is "pretend lyrical".
I say "pretend lyrical" because he gives off the impression that he is spitting some of the most grimey intense rhymes and because of his flow and how good he says he is, you actually believe it. But the more you listen to the album, the more you realize he is the difference between a B student and an A+ student. He's pretty good at conveying his emotions and sharing where he comes from and his situation, but not as poetically or even as well as rappers like Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole.
The album starts with the track, "Intro" which starts the album off with a pretty solid song produced with a piano ballad and sweet sounding strings. Logic rap's about how he wishes Biggie and Andre 3000 would come back to resurrect rap, (a common theme in rap now a days) but then realizes he has to be them and unnify the culture. But it's not really the verse that makes you like the song. It's the catchy Hook at the end and the beat. Be honest with yourself, although logic raps "Cause in my mind the only way I fail, if my verse weak" his verse was pretty weak.
The album transitions into Soul food, which has a nice beat but this time isn't even catchy. Although logic reveals a lot about his life and is very revealing, it comes off as sort of corny. He raps "Plus my other sister just went back to her old dude/He whoopin' her ass, I kill him, I kill him, I motherfucking kill him/I said I really want to kill him, but I can't/Cause if I do po po gon' claim I'm the villain, but I ain't". He talks about serious issues and these are completely serious and valuable topics he is talking about, but he's just not doing them in a way that's different from rappers who came before him. He's actually doing it worse.
The second half of the song transitions into a darker beat, and logic raps more aggressively and uses a complex rhyme scheme, but the song is ruined by a corny hook where he spits "I swear this music in my genes like Denim/Lyricism seeping, I'm like venom/Yes, I know the flow hotter than Lucifer/Even though heaven sent him " which would be impressive, if those lines weren't so commonly heard in hip hop.
From this point on, the album begins for me and I pretend the songs that came before never existed. It starts off with deep humming on a smooth beat, and logic just starts a flurry of rap and talks about basic rappers and how he's tired of them, which is common but this kind of beat suits him so well he doesn't come off as corny.
On Gang Related logic paints an eerie picture of a hood and the struggle that is associated with it. Definitely one of the best songs. He stops saying all the corny punchlines and focuses his attention on a story. Next is buried alive which is my favorite song on the album. It's aesthetically the best sounding song because of the girl in the background who seems to be singing along with logic. She seems to make all of his songs better. It really balances out his awkward voice. This song also takes the common theme of becoming famous, and not liking the feeling of it comparing it to being buried alive. Songs like bounce, growing pains, metropolis are fun but have serious topics. It's easy to get lost in the melody and ignore them, but you can listen to either the lyrics or the way the song sounds ans and you'll be okay.
Nikki is a song I wasn't pleased about, he starts talking about her throughout the album and it's clear that she's a metaphor but when you hear the song and the way he describes what nikki actually is, it's just like come on dude, you couldn't think of a better metaphor?
Under Pressure is a song that I think is interesting. It strings in at about 9 minutes long putting two songs with the same sample together. One where he boast a great flow with lowkey mediocre punchlines and the other half where he speaks from the perspective of his sister and father then himself replying to them. Overall I give this album a 7/10. I enjoyed it but you're free to have your own opinion, you can comment and tell me what you think.
The album starts with the track, "Intro" which starts the album off with a pretty solid song produced with a piano ballad and sweet sounding strings. Logic rap's about how he wishes Biggie and Andre 3000 would come back to resurrect rap, (a common theme in rap now a days) but then realizes he has to be them and unnify the culture. But it's not really the verse that makes you like the song. It's the catchy Hook at the end and the beat. Be honest with yourself, although logic raps "Cause in my mind the only way I fail, if my verse weak" his verse was pretty weak.
The album transitions into Soul food, which has a nice beat but this time isn't even catchy. Although logic reveals a lot about his life and is very revealing, it comes off as sort of corny. He raps "Plus my other sister just went back to her old dude/He whoopin' her ass, I kill him, I kill him, I motherfucking kill him/I said I really want to kill him, but I can't/Cause if I do po po gon' claim I'm the villain, but I ain't". He talks about serious issues and these are completely serious and valuable topics he is talking about, but he's just not doing them in a way that's different from rappers who came before him. He's actually doing it worse.
The second half of the song transitions into a darker beat, and logic raps more aggressively and uses a complex rhyme scheme, but the song is ruined by a corny hook where he spits "I swear this music in my genes like Denim/Lyricism seeping, I'm like venom/Yes, I know the flow hotter than Lucifer/Even though heaven sent him " which would be impressive, if those lines weren't so commonly heard in hip hop.
From this point on, the album begins for me and I pretend the songs that came before never existed. It starts off with deep humming on a smooth beat, and logic just starts a flurry of rap and talks about basic rappers and how he's tired of them, which is common but this kind of beat suits him so well he doesn't come off as corny.
On Gang Related logic paints an eerie picture of a hood and the struggle that is associated with it. Definitely one of the best songs. He stops saying all the corny punchlines and focuses his attention on a story. Next is buried alive which is my favorite song on the album. It's aesthetically the best sounding song because of the girl in the background who seems to be singing along with logic. She seems to make all of his songs better. It really balances out his awkward voice. This song also takes the common theme of becoming famous, and not liking the feeling of it comparing it to being buried alive. Songs like bounce, growing pains, metropolis are fun but have serious topics. It's easy to get lost in the melody and ignore them, but you can listen to either the lyrics or the way the song sounds ans and you'll be okay.
Nikki is a song I wasn't pleased about, he starts talking about her throughout the album and it's clear that she's a metaphor but when you hear the song and the way he describes what nikki actually is, it's just like come on dude, you couldn't think of a better metaphor?
Under Pressure is a song that I think is interesting. It strings in at about 9 minutes long putting two songs with the same sample together. One where he boast a great flow with lowkey mediocre punchlines and the other half where he speaks from the perspective of his sister and father then himself replying to them. Overall I give this album a 7/10. I enjoyed it but you're free to have your own opinion, you can comment and tell me what you think.
Hmm...y'know, I'm sure I heard about this guy during the hype, but I didn't pay it too much attention. 90's style rap...interesting.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard that style in a while.
I just learned so much about logic and Khalil I never knew you would analyse music this deep, i think it's cool and I can't wait to see what you post next.
ReplyDeleteYour blog has been my first exposure to Logic... does he have any good songs?
ReplyDeletePs. Can you recommend any female rappers?
Also Doja cat and dej loaf
DeleteWell "500 Days of summer" & "Gang Related" are some songs that are lyrical and as far aesthetic "We Get High" & "Buried Alive"
ReplyDeleteAs far as female rappers go I like rapsody, babeo baggins, noname gypsy & azealia banks.
you go really in depth in analyzing their songs, keep doing you.
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteThis post is very well thought about. You can tell you took the time to go through some of the album and really think about what was working and what wasn't. I am a fan of Logic, but I also really understand where your coming from about him being a B student. I feel like he just isnt coming up with anything new of impressive enough.
ReplyDelete