This album was released on June 17th this year. Logic is an artist with whom I have a pretty rocky history, which I imagine is the case for most of his listeners. Obviously Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is an artistic low point for him that I hope he never reaches again, but since then he’s been on a steady incline. Well, I suppose that’s not totally true. No Pressure was his best album in years, but Bobby Tarantino III was pretty bad. However, he recently revealed in his interview with Anthony Fantano that BT3 was just a mixtape of throwaways from the Bobby Tarantino II sessions, which makes a lot of sense. That interview actually made me a lot more excited to check this album out than I already was to be honest. I was already interested in hearing it though because most of the singles have been pretty good. I honestly think this is gonna be a pretty good album. It probably won’t be one of my favorite releases of the year, but I’ll actually be surprised if I don’t enjoy it to some extent.
The album opens up with an introductory skit entitled Danger, which I think is a pretty fantastic way to set up the record. It starts with Morgan Freeman informing other every other rapper in Hip Hop that “Logic is the G.O.A.T.,” and then a really awesome instrumental comes in. The album is hosted by Funkmaster Flex, kind of in the same way that Call Me If You Get Lost is hosted by DJ Drama. I think it’s pretty cool how Funk Flex is involved in this project. I like his inclusion here. This track does a great job of getting my excited to listen to the full album, and it transitions really well into the first actual song, Tetris, which was dropped as a single ahead of the album’s full release.
I don’t really think anything about this song is particularly amazing, but I definitely enjoyed it to some extent. I think the boom bap production is pretty goddamn nice, and Logic’s flow is cool too. There aren’t really any standout lines to me for better or worse. Not everything has to be super lyrical though. It just sounds good to me. Logic’s got a nice flow and delivery on this track, and none of the lines stick out in a bad way. If you’re one of those Hip Hop listeners who hates every single thing Logic does, this track definitely isn’t gonna change your mind about him. I like it though. I think it’s pretty good. The following track is better though. It’s called In My Lifetime, and it’s got another really great boom bap instrumental. I think the first verse from Logic is nice too. He had some pretty cool rhymes in there.
I hit the beat machine, get cream for the whole team
Supply the fiends, dollar bills by any means
Average person'd be committed if they seen the shit I seen
It's like my life was written through a murder scene
Even in my early teens I saw a guy on the corner gettin' high
When a stray bullet from a drive by blew his brains through his right eye
The second verse is performed by Action Bronson, and I don’t really enjoy his performance quite as much as that of Logic, but he still did a pretty good job in my opinion. His flow was solid, and his delivery sounded good. This is a pretty dope track to me overall. I like it quite a bit. The following track is another single entitled Decades, which I also like a lot. I think it was released on the same day as Tetris if I’m not mistaken. It’s definitely better than Tetris in my opinion though. The sung hook is pretty solid, and I love how the beat switches up for the actual verse. The verse itself isn’t really anything special, but his flow is solid, and his delivery sounds good. I just really like this track sonically. The production is pretty fantastic to me. Again, I really like the way it switches up for the verse. It’s a dope song overall. Track 5 is a skit entitled JJ Abrahams in which JJ Abrams leaves a voicemail for Logic. I don’t really care about anything that JJ Abrams had to say to Logic, but I still enjoyed this track for what it is because the production in the background sounded pretty good to me. Also, the track is only 20 seconds long, so I’m not gonna pretend to have an issue with it being here. I think it’s pretty good. It’s followed by the first real highlight for me, which is entitled BLACKWHITEBOY. This shit is fire. A lot of what I said about the preceding material applies to this track as well. The main difference is just that Logic sounds particularly hungry on this track. He spit two relatively long verses with a really nice flow and delivery. The lyrics aren’t bad at all. I mean, they’re not super interesting or anything, but, like I said before, not everything has to be super lyrical. It’s not like there weren’t any standout lines at all. I liked that one about how there’s blood running down his arm from his heart on his sleeve. That was cool. This song doesn’t even have one of my favorite beats on the album; I just really like the way this track is structured. I think it’s dope as hell. The following track is called Quasi, and it’s kind of a weird song. I mean, I like it, but the content is just kinda strange. It’s basically just one verse in which Logic begs Madlib to make another Quasimoto album.
Madlib, my man, come the fuck back, damn
Show the people that you understand what I'm sayin'
Quasimoto flow toe-to-toe with any spitter
Hip-hop needs you in this company, the Black John Ritter
In the lab, you said, "People don't wanna hear my shit"
I should smack you, brother, they revere that shit
Come back, run it back, neutralize 'em like Men in Black
From Stones Throw to Madlib Invazion
Ask any fan on the street, they'll say your shit is amazing
The G.O.A.T., a legend, a god amongst men
Greatest producer alive, number one out of the ten
I like this song for all the same reasons that I like the preceding material. I think the production is really nice, and Logic’s flow and delivery sound really great. Overall it does feel a little underwritten since the entire track is just one verse, but that’s just a nitpick honestly. I think it’s a pretty good song as a whole. Track 8 is a single entitled Bleed It.
This was definitely my least favorite single out of all the tracks Logic dropped before the album’s full release, but I still like it to some extent. I think the Beastie Boys sample that 6ix flipped for this track is pretty cool, and Logic sounds good over it in my opinion. I really love how hard-hitting the percussion is too. I actually appreciate the relatively personal lyricism on this track too.
Bob chillin' with my mom watching Ten Commandments Got a bottle in her hand and I'm facin' abandonment Social services fuckin' up my vibe Smile for the worker, but I'm dyin' on the inside Hahahaha, everything's fine Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind I've seen a lot of shit in my lifetime Playin' the field, man, I need anothеr lifeline
I mean, it’s pretty surface level, but I still found it kind of interesting. Logic doesn’t really spit with that interesting of a flow on this track, but the production is good enough for me to look past that aspect of the song. I mainly like this song for the beat, but I think Logic sounds pretty good over it. It’s nowhere near a highlight for me on this album, but, like I said, I enjoy it to some extent. I think it’s pretty good. Track 9 is called LaDonda. This song somehow feels kinda like an interlude just because the structure is so straightforward, and it’s kind of short. I still like it though. The production is nice, and Logic’s flow and delivery sound really good to me. The most provocative part of the song is when Logic addresses Anthony Fantano.
I used to hate you 'cause you shit on my music
But now we homies, I take your criticism and use it
I used to fantasize about murdering you
Choking you to death and watching from your point of view
'Til we got friendly
And I realized you wasn't ever tryna end me
One night, midnight, 2020 on the phone
You said the wildest shit that solidified me to stone
You said, you said I built an amazing fanbase and career
I'm successful and I'm fuckin' worthy to be here
And your opinion is just your opinion
It doesn't matter like your legion of fuckboy minions
I wasn’t really shocked by these lines like a lot of people seemed to be just because it’s not really any different from what Logic said in his interview with Anthony Fantano. I understand why Logic would be so hurt over all the hate and negative reviews he’s received over the years, but I’m glad he seems to be in a much better place now. This song is pretty good to me. I fuck with it. It’s followed by another skit called Aaron Judge, in which some athlete with whom I’m unfamiliar leaves a voicemail for Logic. Pretty much everything I said about the JJ Abrams skit applies to this track as well. I don’t care about anything Aaron Judge has to say, but I like the instrumental in the background. It’s a cool skit. The following track is called Clouds, and it features an artist named Langston Bristol. I think the beat is just okay, but Logic’s flow is thankfully nice enough to keep the song interesting. I like his verse a lot. The second verse from Langston didn’t really impress me at all, but it wasn’t bad. It’s just kinda there. I was actually really surprised by how much I ended up enjoying the final verse from Curren$y. I’m not a fan of him at all, but he sounded pretty good here in my opinion. I like how the beat switches up for his performance. The song does feel like it ends kind of abruptly, but it’s not that big of a deal for me. This is far from a highlight in my opinion, but I definitely enjoyed it to some extent. I think it’s pretty good. The next track is called Michael Rap, and it’s another voicemail skit—this time from Michael Rapaport. As a black Hip Hop fan, I have certain level of enmity towards Michael Rapaport, but I didn’t mind his appearance here too much. He certainly comes off like a huge dickhead here, but it’s definitely intentional. Once again, I like the instrumental in the background. It’s a cool track. The next song is a highlight called Therapy Music, which was also released as a single.
This is my favorite song on the album. I know Russ is another one of those artists that people love to hate much like Logic, but I’m not gonna pretend that his verse here is trash. I actually think it’s quite good. His flow and rhymes were very enjoyable to me, and I enjoyed the lines about groupthink.
A Yankee owner, I got stripes in this game
Hot-headed but got ice my veins, arrivin' by plane
G4 to be exact, rewards and beats and raps
Three whores before forty-three, more are bein' cracked
That was the life that I was leadin' back before I went to therapy
And we unpacked, I wasn't really needin' that
I was needin' validation, which I agree is wack
Mad at my therapist like, "bitch, I agree with that"
Here's the kicker though, my therapist is me
Complainin' 'bout my problems, how American of me
There's a scarcity of free thinkers, it's all group thoughts
That's what they think, that's not what you thought
Before you saw the popular vote
You scared that the world'll leave you if you rockin' the boat
So you don't, all aboard, now you safe in here
But you don't even recognize your own face in here, fuck it
Logic definitely had the better performance to me though. I think this is Logic’s best verse on the whole album honestly. He just sounded hungry as hell here. I think the “fuckin’ in tents” line was a bit cheesy, but I didn’t even really mind that much. I enjoyed the hell out of Logic’s performance here. It just seemed to get better and better as it progressed, and the dynamic production helped a lot. I think this song is dope as hell. It’s followed by the Tony Revolori skit, in which some guy of whom I’ve never heard named Tony Revolori leaves a bunch of voicemails for Logic. I actually like this more than any of the other voicemail skits just because I think it’s funny how he keeps saying “hey, it’s Tony Revolori.” I mean, this skit probably didn’t need to be a minute and a half long, but I enjoyed it for what it is. I think it’s dope personally. The following track is called Rogue One. I really love the production on this track. It kinda sounds like something from a Cypress Hill song to me. Logic sounds really great on the verse here too. I wasn’t that impressed by this song on my first listen—probably because of the straightforward, simplistic structure—but I like it a lot more now. I think it’s a dope track. The following song is entitled Breath Control, and it has a very underwhelming, lazy feature from Wiz Khalifa. If you’ve heard any of Wiz Khalifa’s verses in the past, you know what to expect from this one. Logic embarrassed the hell out of Wiz on this track honestly. He totally murdered him. I’ve enjoyed some of Wiz’s material in the past, but this verse is kind of shameful just because of how wack it is in comparison to that of Logic. Wiz Khalifa makes Logic look like fucking Pharoahe Monch on this song. I still enjoyed the song overall just because Logic’s verse is very good, and I like the way the beat switches up in the middle of his performance. This is far from a highlight though. It honestly should’ve been a solo track. Either that or he should’ve gotten a better feature. Sylvan LaCue would’ve been perfect for this track. It is what it is though. I still like the song overall. I think it’s pretty good. It’s followed by the NEMS skit, in which Nems does his “don’t ever disrespect me” schtick. I like Nems as a rapper quite a bit, but I never found any of his viral videos funny personally. The whole “bing bong” thing is pretty lame to me. I’m not gonna pretend to have a huge issue with this skit though. It’s obviously not one of my favorites, but I still enjoyed it for the production. Track 18 is called Nardwuar, and it features an intro from Nardwuar, as well as a verse from Doc D. This is the only song on the project that I don’t see myself returning to. I think the production is decent, but the verse from Doc D did absolutely nothing for me, and I say that as someone who actually really enjoyed Planetory Destruction. The verse just felt really uninspired and thrown together. Nothing about it stood out in any way to me. I mean, he announced that he’s been working on Planetory Destruction 2, which is kinda cool I guess. However, I really didn’t enjoy much of anything about this song. I think it’s pretty mediocre. The following track is called Kickstyle, and it features iamJMARS, Big Lenbo & C Dot Castro. The beat on this track doesn’t really stand out that much to me, but it’s not particularly bad. I wasn’t familiar with JMARS prior to hearing this project, but I enjoyed their performance here. Much like with most of Logic’s verses, none of the lines really stood out that much to me, but their flow and delivery sounded very good. I can actually say the same thing about the verses from Lenbo & Castro too. They aren’t super lyrical rappers, but they sound good on the mic. I think this is a good track despite not being one of my favorites on the album. I enjoy it. Track 20 is a skit in which Earl Sweatshirt talks about the art of sampling, and then someone named Rainn Wilson leaves another voicemail for Logic. I was kind of disappointed because I had heard that Earl was featured on this album, but I assumed he actually recorded a song with Logic. I don’t even consider myself a fan of Earl Sweatshirt anymore, but I just wanted to see his fanbase melt down over the fact that he’s working with Logic. It is what it is though. A skit is better than nothing. I’ll take what I can get. I think this is a pretty good skit; I really like the beat. The next track is called Ten Years, and it features Royce da 5’9″, who definitely had the best verse on the song. I wouldn’t say he completely murdered Logic though because both of them did well here. Royce’s flow and rhymes were just far more advanced in my opinion.
The chain immaculate, the plaque glisten the same as the jewelry
The pain is practiced, just sit back 'cause this shit came with the groupie
The stainless MAC tin clip attachment fit the frame of this Uzi
Just can't imagine it in the act of shit to drain this jacuzzi
This ain't no actin', reenact the scripts, this ain't a real movie
This ain't no rapper switchin' to activist, this danger feel newbie
I don’t really think the beat is anything special, but this song has some of the best rapping on the project in my opinion. It’s a dope track. Same goes for the following track, Porta One, which features RZA. I think Logic chose a good beat for RZA to spit over. This is one of the grimiest instrumentals on the project. The drums are nice and dusty, and I love the Bring da Ruckus sample. The first verse from Logic was cool, but RZA was definitely the highlight of the song for me. He sounded great. I think this is another one of the better songs on the album honestly. It’s really dope. Track 23 is another skit entitled NeedleDrop, in which Anthony Fantano leaves a voicemail for Logic. I enjoyed this skit mainly for the production, but it was cool of Logic to get Anthony on this project in my opinion. I fuck with it. Track 24 is called Introducing Nezi. I really appreciate Logic for trying to put on lesser known artists on this project. I always wondered why more mainstream artists don’t do that. I think this song has some of the better rapping on the project too—not only from Logic, but from the featured artist as well. I really liked that Wu-Tang torture reference from Logic, and the second verse from Nezi Momodu was pretty nice as well. The production is kind of disappointing to me considering the fact that DJ Khalil was involved, but it’s not a bad instrumental. It’s just not as fire as I was expecting. I definitely like it to some extent, but the main appeal of this song is just the rapping to me. I think it’s a dope track. It’s followed by another single called Orville, which features Like, Blu & Exile.
I think the vocal sample on this track is kind of annoying, but overall I like the melodic production. The first verse from Logic is pretty good, and Like was solid on the second verse, but Blu definitely had the best performance on the track in my opinion.
From irrelevant back to relevant in a matter of seconds
Shattered misconceptions
Misdirected, and headed in my direction, intelligent and I'm tellin' it
Droppin' heavy shit that's still heaven sent
The freshest prince, utmost, definite, deadin' it
'Fore niggas can fathom who they effin' with
Raw, no condom, you still can't come correct with it
I represent a specialist of artists who never charted
But never parted, often regarded as the hardest
Exile’s hook was cool too. This is one of the better tracks on the album to me despite the fact that I’m not totally in love with the production. I still think it’s a really dope song. It’s followed by a highlight entitled Carnival, which features AZ of all people. That’s the main reason I like this song. I’ve never been crazy about AZ’s solo material, but he always comes through on features, and this song is no different. He killed this shit. His flow and rhymes were smoother than fuck, as always. Logic really did a great job on this song too though. I feel like he kinda stepped things up because of how great AZ’s performance was. This track definitely has one of his best verses on the album in my opinion. I really dig the production too. I think this song’s dope as hell. Track 27 is one last skit entitled Lena’s Insight, in which Lena Waithe leaves a voicemail for Logic. Everything I’ve said about all the other skits can be said about this one. I don’t care about anything Lena had to say, but I dug the instrumental in the background. It’s a cool track. Track 28 is the title track, Vinyl Days, which features DJ Premier.
The beat from 6ix is pretty great to me, and I like the way this song is structured. It’s just one long verse from Logic followed by some nice scratches from Premo. The verse isn’t amazing or anything, but I definitely enjoyed it quite a bit. That Joe Biden line was pretty funny. The scratching actually added a lot to the song too in my opinion. I think this is another one of the better tracks on the project. It’s really dope to me. The penultimate track is called I guess I love it, and it features The Game. I think this song is pretty awesome honestly. I really dig the production from 6ix, and I think the opening verse from The Game is great. It was oddly random that he had a line about murdering Canibus, but the verse was fire overall. I love how the beat switches up for Logic’s verse too. I actually think Logic had a better verse than The Game honestly. I can see how some people might find The Game’s verse corny even though I enjoyed. I don’t really see anything wrong with Logic’s performance here though. I liked that line where he said he had more tracks than heroin addicts. That was hard. I like the way the beat switches up for the outro too. I think this song is really dope. The closing track is called Sayonara, and it’s just over 10 minutes long. I was kinda hoping that Logic would be rapping the entire time, but that’s not the case. There’s just one verse on this song, followed by a long ass speech from Logic about his experience at Def Jam Recordings. Even though the verse feels kinda short, I think it’s one of the best on the album mainly because it’s one of the only verses with some legitimately interesting content. This track’s got a pretty great beat. I don’t really care about the speech at the end of the song because most of it is just shoutouts, but I still enjoyed this song overall. I think it’s dope.
This is a good album. I don’t think it’s quite as great as No Pressure, and it’s nowhere near as amazing as Under Pressure, but I still think it’s one of Logic’s best albums. The production is pretty great for the most part, and Logic’s flow and delivery sound as good as ever. I don’t even think the lyricism is particularly bad. The main area that left something to be desired was the content. There isn’t anything as creative & ambitious as Nikki or as personal as Dark Place. It really felt like Logic wasn’t taking this project too seriously, and like he just wanted to have fun, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Again, I think this is a good album. I just feel like I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if he got more personal. I enjoyed this album for the same reasons that I enjoy some of Action Bronson’s music. Action Bronson never really raps about anything that interesting, but he sounds good over a beat. This album is the same way. I also liked the inclusion of Funkmaster Flex on this album, even though he’s only present on about a third of the tracks here. I think most of the features came through with dope performances too. The skits were a bit much though. I enjoyed all of them to some extent, but I think the album probably would’ve been better off without them honestly. I think this album is dope though overall. There was only one track that I didn’t like, and I don’t even think it’s particularly bad; it just lacks replay value for me. This is a good project. Check it out.
Favorite Song: Therapy Music
Least Favorite Song: Nardwuar
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Watch the videos below for more thoughts on this album.
Focus Hip Hop 