I want to start by saying that I have never been a Logic fan. Nothing against him, he just never really crossed my radar. I’ve tried in the past but what I’ve heard never really caught my ear. I will say I think he has a very cool aesthetic and I really enjoy his album artwork. That being said, I went into this new project with no expectations whatsoever.
No Pressure is the latest and final album from Maryland rapper Logic. Released on July 24 and produced by No I.D, this is the Logic’s swan song (or album) as he’s hanging it up in favor for fatherhood.
As mentioned before, I went into this project with no expectations whatsoever. The album starts off with No Pressure-Intro, it starts a very simple jazzy laidback beat which caught my ear almost immediately. This isn’t a surprise as the album was produced by No I.D who frequently works with artists such as Common, Kanye West, and Jay-Z. The song features a spoken word sample from Orson Welles that has Logic coming in finishing the sentences to make it sound as if he’s talking directly to the listener. Along with the Orson sample, the album is filled with samples from Anna Elyse starting the “program” that is the album listening experience, providing additional info about the track or introducing the next track. While the jazzy beats got me, I didn’t enjoy Logic cutting in. It felt very jarring and took me out of the listening experience. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good intro track. My only other gripe is I wish it was a little bit longer. It abruptly ends and going into the next track Hit My Line which is fine but I felt Logic had a great flow going and the ideas could have been stretched out a bit more.
The next track is Hit My Line, this is another track where I’m not too fond of Logic’s ad libs at the beginning of the track. Thankfully it doesn’t last long and Logic goes into a rap/singing flow that carries the rest of this track. It’s a very feel good song that delves into a few different topics but mainly how so much is happening in the world Logic feels he can’t touch on all of it. He mentions violence within the community saying “kids scared of drive-bys when they should be afraid of the dark” but after states he knows people say they don’t want messages in their music (keeping music about the music, no agenda) but Logic has been known to be very vocal about subjects just as mental health and racial identity. This song has a great vibe and very good flow.
A track that really jumped out at me further in the LP was man i is, we have another jazzy heavy track here. This track starts with a wonderful bass line and is accompanied by a great brass horn section. After a brief sample Logic comes in very slick and fits right into the groove. This is for sure a bob your head kind of track. When Logic takes a break before the second verse, I had to stop and rewind, he samples the horns from OutKast song SpottieOttieDopaliscious! Prior to this track, a sample cites rappers MF Doom, Kanye West and producer Nujabes as heavy influences for his production style which is very apparent on this album, he even has a track titled Heard Em Say paying homage to the Kanye track of the same name. Another thing I thought worth noting is the transition sample notes that various classic anime such as Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and my personal favorite, Samurai Champloo were in constant rotation during the making of this album.
After this we have a track titled Dadbod. As the title suggests, this track has Logic driving the point home that, while he’s had a great career, he wants to retire to be a dad for his son. He drops lines like “Walk up in with apple sauce and broccoli Lil Bobby better eat your greens, boy don’t gimmie lip about it” or “I could tell you more about diapers than modern rappers & cyphers”. Sonically this album has a nice piano groove where Logic raps over with a nice clean flow going into detail about what he’s looking forward to post retirement.
The final track is titled Obediently Yours. It is a beautiful track that has a sample from the Orson Welles Commentaries speaking specifically about racism in the 40’s and the case of Issac Woods who after being honorably discharged by the Army, was beaten by police even though he was still in uniform. This track is haunting because the sentiment about the injustices people of color face (including but not limited to) racial inequality, police brutality and lynching’s still rings true today. I appreciate the fact that Logic chose to end his rap career with a track that has such a strong statement considering how influential he is and how far his reach is to younger audiences.
I stated in the beginning of this review, I went into this with little to no expectations but after multiple listens I can say No Pressure is a pretty good album. Logic is clear, has smooth flow and while he’s not the most technical rapper he can really get in the groove and has a few funny punchlines. I can say that after this, I will be going back into his back catalogue to check out his older music. What’s a bit of a bummer is that it took his final album for me to give him a fair chance. Either way, Logic’s No Pressure is a solid rap album that I recommend!
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