Iโll admit, that at one point in time I was a slight Logic hater. I hadnโt actually heard too much of his material but I always remember thinking he was such a cornball whenever I saw an interview or anything of that sort that involved him. Iโll admit it, I was ignorant to what he could bring musically. That was until I heardย The Incredible True Story, and to say my views on him changed drastically after that would be an understatement. It made me go back and revisit all of his previous work and it had me seriously considering listing him among hip-hopโs upper echelon with the likes of Kendrick, Cole, and Drake. But before I could do that, I needed to hear howย Everybody would turn out.
Goddam the kid can seemingly do no wrong when it comes to his production. For a largely independent act the quality of production heโs able to gather up is quite impressive.ย Everybody is literally full of heat from beginning to end and it might just be is his best produced album yet, and thatโs saying something. Iโve learned throughout the years that you just canโt teach that ear for production. Some artists have it, some donโt. He definitely has it. Thereโs such a varied offering of styles here from the harder more prototypical rap beats like โKilling Spreeโ, to the more upbeat โMos Definitelyโ, to the gospely โBlack SpiderManโ, and everything in between. And yet somehow not a single song sounds out of place and they all compliment each other extremely well. The only song I wasnโt feeling all that much was โAmerica.โ While a dope concept, I just couldnโt get with itโs production and the annoying vocal loop itโs got going on. Outside of that one slight misstep the soundscape onย Everybody is immaculate.
Everybody, anybody, somebody fill the void, somebody fill the void
Listen, I donโt wanna work a job, motherfuck a 9 to 5
Every time I get a check, what I really get? Robbed
Livin in America, this shit is a facade
But you gotta push through and persevere, word to God
Tryna find a home, but I canโt afford a home
โCause Iโm 25 and owe a hunnid grand in student loans
The one area I was concerned with going intoย Everybody was with Logicโs lyrics. Not because I donโt think heโs skilled, quite the contrary, I think heโs an absolute beast and from a purely rapping standpoint I think he could go toe to toe with damn near anyone. I was concerned that with the subject matter of the album that he mighty come off heavy handed and preachy. There were a few cringe moments on here, especially on โBlack SpiderManโ, but for the most part he handles the subject matter with enough subtlety as not to detract from the largely enjoyable listening experience. Concept albums are extremely hard to pull off, but he was mostly successful in doing so. So much so that I donโt mind letting the skits and interludes play through without needing to hit that skip button every time, and this album more than anything has really given me a lot of insight into who Logic is as a person and that made me care that much about who he is as an artist. Itโs time to have a serious conversation about placing Logic among rapโs current greats.
Have you heardย Everybody? Whatโd you think about it? Do you think he pulled off his concept for the album? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave our own ratings and reactions for the album.
P.S. That hidden J. Cole verse at the end of the album is damn near better than Coleโs whole last album.
