It’s been a little over two years since A Boogie wit Da Hoodie launched his third official album, Artist 2.0. In an interview with Apple Music, he stated that caring for his mom, who had most cancers, in addition to mourning the demise of PnB Rock in September contributed to his relative absence previous to Me vs. Myself. (On the deluxe version, he honors PnB Rock with “Wanted That.”) However it seems like mainstream rap has shifted within the interim.
The melodic type that Boogie utilized to nice success on hits like “Look Again at It” and “Numbers” doesn’t characterize the vanguard anymore. Rising acts like Ice Spice and Flo Milli in addition to wily veterans like Lil Durk and Youngboy By no means Broke Once more have begun adopting a more durable rapping type, maybe reflecting the persevering with influence of Chicago and Brooklyn drill and hearkening to an period when rap meant talking actual phrases, not simply singing in a rhythmic cadence. It’s a refined change, and you may nonetheless discover loads of mainstream stars on the charts twisting their voices with Auto-Tuned results. Time and a brand new 12 months will inform the place the style heads subsequent.
Within the meantime, there’s Boogie with a brand new album, simply in time for the vacations. The Highbridge, Bronx-born rapper has lengthy nurtured an interesting voice, charismatic but full of surprising angst. He sticks to the persona he established along with his 2016 mixtape The Artist, evoking a younger man whose rap life affords him each need, but nonetheless will get rattled when a relationship goes sideways, or when opps cross him within the streets. These are themes he mines time and again, deploying melodious hooks and diaristic lyrics to maintain them contemporary. The result’s an hour-plus album with few surprises.
The manufacturing template on Me vs. Myself is stuffed with echoing guitars and pianos, an Enya-like zone of contemplation. The strain comes from Boogie harmonizing with drive over these vibe-y abstractions. “I all the time saved it actual with individuals who was faux with me,” he sings over the flickering guitar tones of “Meals for Thought.” It’s addressed to a former lover, and he claims, “I’m out of contact with actual life/I fell in love with different bitches to see what that shit really feel like.” He provides particulars like “38 bezel on my wrist” and “two .38s on my hip” to represent his wealth in addition to his wariness of others. “After which I get up sober,” he concludes, as if it’s all a dream.
Sadly, one of many stronger tracks is “Take Pictures” with Tory Lanez. The Canadian rap singer has change into a Johnny Depp-like determine, exploiting felony costs surrounding his alleged capturing of Megan Thee Stallion to resuscitate his once-flagging profession. He admittedly comes off properly on “Take Pictures,” adeptly switching between harmonies and rapping, “Fuck all that singing shit, let’s hold it uncooked and rugged” as he and Boogie describe alcohol-soused orgies. In the meantime, Kodak Black, with whom Boogie scored the hit “Drowning” in 2017, returns for “Water (Drowning Pt. 2).” Earlier this 12 months, Kendrick Lamar was excoriated for platforming Kodak. However the rap generalists that scrutinize main figures like Lamar over ethics in all probability received’t discover Lanez and Kodak on Me vs. Myself. In the meantime, Boogie’s core viewers might care much less.
Boogie’s type works in manageable doses. His melodic raps are constructed from a vicious circle of wealth, public consideration each welcomed and undesirable, disposable “bitches,” and the one woman who broke his coronary heart. Typically, the thematic tedium leads to an surprising delight, like “Come Right here,” a strip membership anthem the place he sings, “Throw that ass in a circle, woah, woah, woah” over keyboard traces emitting erotic vibes. He nurtures his picture as a younger intercourse image, evoking Usher’s “Good and Sluggish” on “Feelings” (“I’ll fuck you proper I’ll”) and Large Pun’s “Nonetheless Not a Participant” on “Playa (Remix)” (“I can allow you to drive the Bentley, simply don’t drive me loopy”).
Me vs. Myself is supposed to mirror Boogie’s consciousness of his strengths and limitations, however he’s balling too exhausting to get too deep. He’s having enjoyable along with his “broskis,” ingesting and popping Adderall capsules with abandon. “Received my hoodie on like Melo within the Backyard/Received my cash up, I’m ballin’ like Lebron’s son,” he brags on “Ballin’.” He is aware of that he broke a lady’s coronary heart, however he can’t fairly articulate what could have occurred past unfaithfulness. “Why you all the time gotta go and discuss my previous hoes/Why you gotta take it there, locations that we don’t go?” he sings on “Flip off the Radio.” His life is dominated by the pleasure precept…a minimum of till somebody will get damage.
